Brooklyn Block Associations - Updates

Block Summit at Another World, Dec. 6

Block Summit was scheduled for 12:30 to 2:30 on a cold, windy Saturday.  I arrived a little after 12:30 and found a sparse group sitting in the chairs facing the back of Another World.  Over the next half hour more people kept arriving and filled up most of the seats.  The facilitors were Kayla and Cloud, and they ran the meeting in way that I have come to expect.

4.1 Photo of Cloud

First, there were to be introductions; then there was to be a report on the block association/tenant association data base.  After that was to come a report on the successful efforts of the Fix the Fountain Committee to get the sprinkler fountain in Brower Park repaired.  Following that would be a break out on the subject of mediation, and finally an update on the effort to bring back June Balloon, the summer festival for children that was suspended decades ago.

Introductions took a whle because new people kept coming in.  They had to be told what was expected of them and then give their answers.  One item they were to tell about was a present they did not get as children but which they still wanted.  In addition one was to give one's name, pronouns, the street one lives on and whether one is a member of a block association.  For the gift not given in childhood, many people answered that  they wanted a musical instrument – drums, guitars and accordions were all mentioned.  Many people lived outside of Crown Heights – Bed-Stuy, Prospect Heights and Flatbsh were mentioned, and almost no one belonged to a block association.    I only heard from people from Brooklyn Avenue and Dean Street who were members of associations.  People usually said some variation of, “I don't belong to a block association, but I wish I did.”  If the purpose was to get block associations working together, that was not going to happen at this meeting.  Perhaps the cold weather was partially to blame.

There was then a presentation about the block association data base.  Around forty associations are listed there.  One can access the site to get information and also give information about one's block association.  This is no doubt a valuable tool, one that could be used to gather support for some important initiative.

Garon spoke about a new block association that needs help in forming.  A woman named Raven held a well-attended block party on Dean Street between Troy and Schenectady Avenues.  However, there is actually no block association there.  She asked the CARE Collective for help in forming one.  Garon said a call for volunteers would go out to enlist help when the time is right.

Then an older resident named Kathy McFadden spoke up in favor of the community coming together to accomplish things.  She much preferred in-person connections to those over the phone or computer, saying that it is only in-person that one really gets to know who one is talking with.  She said she was a part of a group that tried to get Summerhill restaurant and bar to stop promoting itself as though it were the site of a shootout by Black gunmen, showing off supposed bullet holes in its wall.  Eventually the restaurant was forced to close in the face of community protest.

Next came a presentation of the work of the Fix the Fountain Committee.  This was an effort that got a lot of support from block associations.  Dean Street, St. Marks, Paficic between Albany and Troy, Brooklyn Avenue, PLANT, HSVK, and Lincoln Civic Block Association were all involved.  Shelly Fank gave an account of how the Committee came together in June, held demonstrations, passed around a petition that got almost a thouand signatures, got media coverage and enlisted the help of Council Member Chi Ossé.  The needed repair was finally made on November 19th five months after the effort began.  The Committee plans to make sure the fountain is working in the spring, well ahead of next summer when the need for it will be so apparent.

After this came a break out to discuss the issue of mediation – how to settle disputes peacefully.  I was in a group with Garon, Mary and Sabrina.  Mediation is especailly important given the CARE Collective's aim to bring back June Balloon next summer.  That festival was brought to an end by a shooting in 2001 after running for some twenty years.  After that, the effort to hold the event came to an end.  In my group Garon pointed out that there is no way of mediating a shooting.  He said the work to end violence has to take place before, particularly by inviting teens to take part in useful and productive activities.  Mary and Sabrina, told about how important it is to know neighbors and have good connections with them so that one can resolve problems before they grow out of control.  Calling in the police is a sign that the community's relationships have failed.

Block summit leaflet

I couldn't stay for the last section on June Balloon.  However, it seemed to me a productive conversation had begun about what it would take to bring that event back.  The keys seemed to be community groups working together, having a strong relationship within block associations that could bring out strengths and address weak points to have a program that would be fun and enjoyable and bring the community even closer together.  I look forward to finding out more about how this work develops.

– John DeWind