Moving NYC Forward

ABNY Special Projects

Together' We Are New York

ABNY Special Projects

Together, We Are New York

Together' We Are New York

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN

Together, We Are New York is a community-based arts campaign presented by the Association for a Better New York (ABNY), in partnership with community-based organizations, local artists, and neighborhood stakeholders to celebrate the cultural diversity of New York, its people, and its communities—showcasing New York City pride! Together, We Are New York will culminate in neighborhood activations across the five boroughs of New York City, individualized arts projects using multiple disciplines, community engagement, and public art installations.

THE PROCESS
  • Selection of neighborhoods most impacted by COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Selection of community-based partners with strong relationships in selected communities.
    Selection of local artists identified by ABNY and the community-based partner.
  • Selection of community stakeholders identified by community-based partner.
  • Community conversations:
    • Two community conversations with community stakeholders (6 to 8 participants), led by community-based partners, to discuss experiences being a New Yorker, pre- and during COVID. Local artists present to develop the concept of the community art project. 
  • Workshops and/or community events to create the art project:
    • Workshops and/or community events held to engage community conversation participants and the larger community in the creation of the art project.
  • Culmination event:
    • Celebration of the citywide Together, We Are New York campaign, the completion of the community art project, and the community’s New York City pride.
NEIGHBORHOOD PROFILES

The neighborhoods selected for the campaign include those that were most impacted by COVID-19 and have high percentages of other health and socioeconomic disparities. The data used to select these neighborhoods were identified using the New York City Department of Health’s Data portal which closely monitors key public health indicators to best track the recent effects of COVID-19 in our communities.

The indicators considered include:

  • Percent of NYC residents tested who tested positive;
  • New daily confirmed and probable cases;
  • Hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illness; and
  • Rate of new COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, according to New York State.

The selected neighborhoods include (Neighborhood, Zip Codes):

  • Kingsbridge (10463, 10468)
  • Bedford-Stuyvesant (11205, 11206, 11216, 11221, 11233, 11238)
  • East Harlem (10029, 10035)
  • Corona (11368)
  • Staten Island (10301)
OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS 

The Bronx
Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC) provides resources to empower Bronx residents from cradle to career to advance education and well-being for a vibrant community. They achieve this in an environment that fosters academic milestones, literacy, mental health support, nutrition, technology, and the arts. 

Brooklyn
Renegade Performance Group is a Brooklyn-based dance company creating innovative artistic projects grounded in Black and African Diaspora aesthetics and expressions through theatrical, immersive, and site-specific performance as well as film, multimedia, and technology. Renegade Performance Group collaborates with artists of all genres on projects that stretch performance presentation. #beRenegade 

Weeksville Heritage Center is a historic site and cultural center in Central Brooklyn that uses education, arts, and a social justice lens to preserve, document, and inspire engagement with the history of Weeksville, one of the largest free Black communities in pre-Civil War America, and the Historic Hunterfly Road Houses.

Manhattan
Uptown Grand Central is a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming East 125th Street into a thriving corridor by delivering programs that put advocacy into action through collaborations with businesses, residents, and neighborhood organizations across East Harlem. 

Queens
The Louis Armstrong House Museum (LAHM) sustains and promotes the cultural, historical, and humanitarian legacy of Louis Armstrong by preserving and interpreting Armstrong’s house and grounds, collecting and sharing archival materials that document Armstrong’s life and legacy, developing programs for the public that educate and inspire, and engaging with contemporary artists to create performances and new works. 

Staten Island
Sundog Theatre, Inc. is a performing arts organization offering contemporary, original, and thought-provoking theatre productions, a touring company that travels regionally, acting classes for young people, and arts-in-education programs that supplement classroom curricula through theatre, dance, music, and visual arts to help make learning come alive.

Together' We Are New York

THE ARTISTS

The Bronx
Ana Rodriguez (Photographer)
Jose Serrano (Muralist) 

Brooklyn
André M. Zachery (Choreographer)
Sabine Blaizin (DJ)
Okai (Vocalist/Percussionist)
Kendra Foster (Singer/Songwriter) 

Manhattan
Menaceresa (Muralist)
Andre Trenier (Muralist)
Kristy McCarthy (Muralist)
Kron (Muralist)
Lostbreed Culture (Muralists) 

Queens
Edmar Castañeda (Musician) 
Maria de los Angeles Rodriguez Jimenez (Visual Artist) 

Staten Island
Lina Montoya (Visual Artist)
Jodi Dareal (Visual Artist)

CULMINATION EVENTS

Each project will conclude with a culmination event to celebrate the citywide Together, We Are New York campaign, the completion of the community art project, and the community’s New York City pride.

The Bronx – Kingsbridge Heights
Saturday, October 2 @ 11a.m.
Kingsbridge Heights Community Center
3101 Kingsbridge Terrace #5900, Bronx NY 10463

Queens – Corona
Sunday October 3 @ 11 a.m.
Louis Armstrong House Museum Garden
34-56 107th St, Queens, NY 11368 

Brooklyn – Bedford-Stuyvesant
Saturday, October 9 @ 4 p.m.
Weeksville Heritage Center
158 Buffalo Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11213 

Staten Island – New Brighton
Saturday October 9 @ 1 p.m.
Skyline Playground
Arnold St. to Prospect Ave. bet. Harvard Ave and Clyde Pl., Staten Island, 10301

Manhattan – East Harlem
New Date! Sunday, October 24 @ 3:00 p.m.
East 125th Commercial Corridor
New York, New York

Check out the kickoff video here.

Questions? For additional information, please contact Joshua Reyes– jreyes@abny.org.

50th Anniversary

The Association for a Better New York (ABNY) marks its 50th Anniversary in 2021. Throughout this year, the ABNY community will celebrate and commemorate our legacy of civic engagement and collaboration across industry sectors. Advocating to make New York City a better place to live, work, and visit for all, ABNY has built a formidable coalition of business, labor, nonprofit, and political leaders throughout the past five decades.

For 50 years, ABNY has served as New York City’s most fervent supporter and champion, bringing together decisionmakers from across the country for the common purpose of making our home a safer and better place. We take pride in our role as a convener built on respect for each other, our diverse communities, and for our great city.

From the time of our founding during the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, under the unparalleled leadership of Lew Rudin, Howard Rubenstein, Bob Tisch, and so many fiercely dedicated civic leaders, through the tragedy of 9/11 and the passionate stewardship of Bill Rudin, to challenges of Superstorm Sandy and obstacles in the path of resiliency, through the uncertainty and devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, ABNY has stood strong for our City: striving for solutions, contending with the unforeseen, and leading us toward a better future.

Today, as we look toward the next fifty years, ABNY will work toward an equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and move to rectify social and economic injustices that have plagued our neighborhoods and communities for far too long. With Melva M. Miller and Steven Rubenstein guiding the organization, ABNY will continue to create space for collaboration and innovation among the public and private sectors to keep New York City moving forward.

Please join us for a very special Spirit of ABNY Awards in December 2021, a virtual ceremony during which we will toast and pay tribute to our founders, former leaders, stalwarts, and trailblazers. We will honor our history and tradition and lay the path for our City’s future, together.

Thank you to all of our members, partners, and friends who have bolstered this organization for the past fifty years. Our work together has only just begun.

2020 CENSUS FOR A BETTER NEW YORK

In an effort to help New York City and State achieve the most accurate Census count possible in 2020, the Association for a Better New York (ABNY) implemented a two-year strategic plan. ABNY formed an organizing and action committee comprised of corporate, nonprofit, community, and union leaders. Its objective and purpose was to achieve three primary goals: 1) maximize the Census self-response rate in 2020; 2) help New Yorkers complete the Census form; and 3) work to ensure confidentiality and privacy protections under Title 13 of the United States Code.

The work was based on the understanding that ABNY’s role was to support and supplement Census efforts by the U.S. Census Bureau, the State of New York, and the City of New York, informed by the advocacy and organizing work of New York Counts 2020, and in coordination with all Census 2020 stakeholders. ABNY used community engagement, consensus building, and stakeholder involvement as mechanisms to:

  • Provide leadership for a coordinated Census effort for New York City.
  • Provide support and resources to community-based, nonprofit organizations.
  • Organize and facilitate a Census campaign for the business community.

See additional information about the effort here.

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