Engaging Communities News Archive

The Stapleton Houses' Resource Hub initiative consists of five pop-up mobile kiosks near the development’s tennis court area. A product of the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety, the program is effectively operating a hub to connect the community to requested services, resources, and programming. Some key issues for Stapleton’s resident stakeholder team have included health and overall wellness, safety and justice, connection to resource information, as well as youth programming and development. 

From Blocks to Beats is a 6-month music program that teaches youth how to make and perform music, in partnership with the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety and Tompkins Houses. The program's first graduation event included 10 graduates and a night filled with powerful performances before a cheering audience. 

In a "Victory Over Violence" segment on News Channel 9, Syracuse reporter Jennifer Sanders talks with Leah Russell of our Near Westside Peacemaking Project about the community-based conflict resolution work in the neighborhood and a resident-led community impact team to empower residents to enact change.

Residents of the Wagner House are proposing for the expansion of social programming at the development, as part of their work with the Mayor's Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety. The proposal is dedicated to issues such as mental health, peer support, conflict resolution, restorative justice, and youth development. This resident-run initiative will transform a dilapidated lawn into a community gathering and event space featuring new planters, lawn furniture, a removable stage, a mural, and more.

This article features the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety and the Patterson Housing tenants—known as the NeighborhoodStat team— who have decided to invest in local gardens with the goal of increasing community engagement and collective efficacy. The article highlights James Reddick of the Center for Court Innovation, along with images of tenant and stakeholder, Eric Murray, taken in the Patterson garden.

The Mayor's Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety and the Center for Court Innovation work to improve the environment in which people live, like better building maintenance, having access to necessary services, engaging in civic life, and the community coming together to collaboratively solve problems. The article quotes engagement coordinator, Karla Alonso, and highlights the Harlem Community Justice Center and St. Nicholas housing complex in photos.

The Village Voice highlights how the Brownsville Community Justice Center engages its community, and what it does when it hears back.