NYC Grants Help West Harlem Organizations Combat Environmental Concerns And Gentrification

Upper West Side NY

10 April, 2022

4:01 PM

Description

By Sophie Dau Gowri Konkesa, Columbia Daily Spectator April 9, 2022 Signe Mortensen, the program coordinator at the West 150th St Block Association and chair of the housing, land use, and zoning committee of Community Board 9, is known by her neighbors as "the tree lady." She earned the distinct nickname through 12 years of passionately volunteering to revitalize her block's greenery. However, in order to fund this work, she, like many other community organizers, had to learn to navigate the grant system. The West 150th Street Block Association is one of many West Harlem community organizations that relies on grants to ensure the continuation of its programs. This association in particular conducts programs that range from teaching neighborhood children about the source of their food to hosting educational workshops and planting greenery. Various barriers to access, such as lack of financial literacy, however, make it difficult to procure these crucial grants. When Mortensen began at the West 150th Street Block Association, she had no prior experience applying for grants to support the organization's work. She consequently had difficulty applying for these grants at first—especially due to her organization's lack of 501(c)(3) status, a title for nonprofit organizations that are exempt from federal income tax. "Honestly, we had no idea what grant writing was," Mortensen said."It's hard because you have to be a 501(c)(3) usually to get the grants, and it has to be some sort of fiscal conduit." After extensive research and a long learning process, the organization won four community grants in its first year. Since then, it has been continuously applying for neighborhood grants to fund its essential programming; notably, it has received grants from Love Your Block, a New York City service that provides block grants to neighborhood organizations, on multiple occasions. The funding from the grants mainly goes toward children programming and a community garden, although the association is also "happy to share the wealth" with other block associations in the area on community projects like tree bed cleanups. "We're not making thousands and thousands of dollars. That's not really our purpose either. Whatever we make, it just goes towards whatever program we do on the block, on the garden," Mortensen said. Funds from a 2019 Love Your Block grant were used to purchase supplies to beautify tree beds. The West 150th St Block Association also received the Love Your Block grant in 2012, which provided much-needed funding to help residents revitalize the neighborhood. Love Your Block has helped historically underrepresented neighborhood block associations access city resources in order to beautify and restore their streets since 2009. It partners with NYC Parks, the Department of Sanitation, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Environmental Protection to this end. "We focus the program on marginalized communities that don't have access or understand how to reach resources like Love Your Block funding because, without funding, it's really difficult for them to launch any of the projects in their communities," James Garcia, the director of outreach at NYC Service, said. In the past, the program provided volunteer-led organizations $1000 to put towards anything from supplies and equipment to plants and soil. This year, due to city budget cuts, the grant has been reduced to $500 for each block. The program provides administrative support in addition to financial contributions. If a block receives this grant, any city request—like fixing speed bumps or adding a streetlight—is fast-tracked. The goal is to connect neighborhoods to a network of resources they might not have been able to navigate otherwise. "They see this as an important part, for it to not only beautifying their open space, but they're becoming ambassadors for city agencies, helping to address key priorities," Garcia said. "Obviously, they have a mission of helping to improve the quality of life across the city." Beyond block beautification, many other West Harlem organizations rely on grants to help support community programs in the wake of gentrification. Living Redemption is another West Harlem-based organization that relies on grants to help its mission of providing a similar network of resources. It is an organization founded by Rev. Maurice Winley that works with credible messengers—community members who have been trained as conflict de-escalators—to help families affected by the criminal justice system. Living Redemption is located in West Harlem on 124th Street between St. Nicholas Avenue and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. The organization received a grant from the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice to campaign against gun violence and add resources like technology to Harlem neighborhoods. "These grants are so important, especially for Living Redemption Youth Opportunity Hub, [so] that we could continue to administer the services and connect the families and communities to the necessary tools that help us in our mission, which is healing communities, saving lives, one relationship at a time," Dorin Hammond, a credible messenger for Living Redemption, said. The grant served as a way to combat economic development that focused on luxury development rather than community investment, according to Hammond. Living Redemption is encouraged by the grant to spend the money on local businesses and focus on programs that improve the quality of life for West Harlem residents. "Being able to successfully execute these grants help us deal with the high crime areas to where those individuals that lack the information or the resources," Hammond said. "Not coming to them with a prescribed plan saying, 'This is what you need to work on because you keep committing crimes,' but we really get to have an organic conversation with them around a hot meal." As a part of this community investment, these grants included funding for specific youth members in order to employ residents for these beautification projects. One task specifically that came along with the grant was the creation of a mural. The organization has created murals in the past, and Hammond believes it is the best combination of neighborhood beautification and unity as residents must come together to celebrate their community. "We didn't just paint; we ask questions," Hammond said. "We had questions that will engage anybody that you're sitting next to. You will have a conversation around the questions that was asked, and it'll be open-ended questions to add to the dialogue that individuals will have and allow them to see past race, past gender, past gang affiliation." Garcia echoed the importance of the role of grants in creating community unity and providing support so organizations can revitalize their neighborhoods. "It's so important for obvious reasons," Garcia said. "You want to keep community groups engaged. We want to bring awareness, resources, and support." Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.