Snapshots from Summer: Community and Connection

Staff from our Red Hook Community Justice Center tabling with art supplies and flyers for children and families at outdoor community event.

Summer in New York brings people out into the neighborhood for fun, joy, and connection. As the season draws to a close, take a look at some summer events we hosted to share resources with the community and build relationships.

After a participatory budgeting project that got more than 800 residents voting on a new community investment, the Castle Hill Houses in the Bronx celebrated a new BBQ area and dog park—the first ever to be built on a NYCHA campus.

Two members of our Neighborhood Safety Initiatives team speak at the opening of the new dog park in the Castle Hill Houses in front of the blueprint for the new green space.

The new community space was the work of Green Space Connections, a collaboration between public housing residents, our Neighborhood Safety Initiatives team, the Public Housing Community Fund, and Design Trust for Public Space. Community members gathered with their furry companions to unveil the dog run this August. You can read more about the project in Bronx Times.

Residents of the Castle Hill Houses take their dogs out to the new dog park on their NYCHA campus.

Castle Hill Houses residents gather in the new green space outside their building.

Our Staten Island Justice Center team made their way to Midland Beach to join the National Night Out Against Crime hosted by the 122nd Precinct, part of an annual campaign to deepen communication and partnership between the community and law enforcement. The team set up a tent to share information about local services and resources while handing out cold snacks in the summer heat.

Our Staten Island Justice Center team poses at an outdoor table with pamphlets, water bottles, and cold snacks.

Team member from our Staten Island Justice Center at a face-painting station with a young child at our Family Enrichment Center. — Face-painting station at Summer Connect.

Community members also gathered at our Family Enrichment Center in Staten Island for “Summer Connect,” a day of family-friendly fun and connection. Residents had a chance to meet with their Community Advisory Board, which will take the lead on imagining and implementing new, creative initiatives in partnership with the community.

Our Queens Community Justice Center continued a summer tradition with their Queens Spirit Day Festivals across the borough, designed to bring the community together for fun, education, and empowerment. In the Rockaways, Jamaica, and Long Island City, hundreds of community members gathered to enjoy karaoke, Zumba, soccer, and raffles while getting access to valuable services in their neighborhoods.

Two young people talk to our Queens Community Justice Center team at their table during the Spirit Day festival.

Queens Community Justice Center team member assisting a community member at resource table during Spirit Day festival.

Staff and community members hang out by a food truck at our Queens Community Justice Center's Spirit Day fesitval.

The team also organized a giveaway to hand out clothing, hygiene products, and other basic supplies for more than 100 residents.

Community members line up outside our Queens Community Justice Center in the Rockaways for the summer hygiene pantry event.

Up to 100 Far Rockaway residents gather in an outdoor plaza and garden for our community hygiene pantry and tables with local resources.

Our Summer Youth Employment Program interns in Far Rockaway hosted a Culture Day event earlier this month to uplift and celebrate the many cultures that have shaped their community. The event was the culmination of weeks of paid work experience where young people had a chance to build up their skills as cultural ambassadors and community leaders.

Table poster with "Nigeria" written in decorative font over illustration of Africa in the colors of the Nigerian flag.

Table poster with illustration of the Taj Mahal above the words "India, Around the world" in colorful font and two Indian flags.

Table poster with illustration of the flag of Guyana.

The importance of culture was at the heart of another event hosted by our team in Red Hook, Brooklyn, in celebration of Juneteenth and Pride Month. Our Red Hook Community Justice Center’s “Love Your Culture Day” festival brought the community together to celebrate cultural diversity with live music, delicious food, giveaways, and resources on everything from housing to education to harm reduction and more.

People having a conversation outdoors in front of tents and a Pride flag at our Red Hook Community Justice Center's "Love Your Culture Day" event.

A member of our Red Hook team offering sandwiches and food to a mother and child at our Red Hook Community Justice Center's "Love Your Culture Day" event.

Man playing a trumpet with a Pride flag in the distant background.

Our Red Hook team, carrying a Pride flag and Puerto Rican flag, table outdoors with pamphlets on victim services, Family Court proceedings, and free Narcan.

At our third annual Housing Justice Resource Fair in Harlem, city agencies, local non-profits, and legal service providers gathered in Harlem Art Park to offer residents support with all things housing. Residents came by to enjoy food, music, and community while getting access to a host of resources to help keep their rent affordable, resolve problems that might put them at risk of eviction, and learn about their rights as tenants.