Hester Street Collaborative

Hester Street Collaborative (HSC) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the physical environment in underserved New York City neighborhoods using a participatory planning and design approach. Based out of New York City's Chinatown, HSC works with local residents, particularly students, in transforming neglected public spaces in parks, schools, and affordable housing developments through a “design-build” process which allows stakeholders to have a hands-on role. HSC's "brand" of architecture and design is used to promote vibrant, diverse communities that encourage civic engagement and a sense of ownership. HSC was officially incorporated in 2003 as a 501C(3) non-profit organization to expand on its work with communities in need. Anne Frederick is HSC's executive director.

Participatory Design

HSC provides professional architecture and design services as well as opportunities to interface with decision-makers. Without the participation of current residents, renovations of public spaces often displace locals while incoming, more affluent newcomers change the unique character of the neighborhood. HSC addresses the need to improve public spaces particularly within neighborhoods with large immigrant populations. Many barriers prevent residents from having a voice in decisions regarding their built environment. 40% of Chinatown and the Lower East Side are foreign-born and 37% are not English-profecient. In Chinatown and the Lower East Side, there are only convert|0.7|acre|m2 of open space per 1,000 people, in spite of the Governor’s Open Space Report recommending an open space/population ratio of convert|2.5|acre|m2 per 1,000 people. This means that residents of disadvantaged communities often lack opportunities to experience the natural environment and the benefits of open spaces. [http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/osp2006.pdf]

Leroy Street Studio and Ground Up

In 1998, architecture firm Leroy Street Studio (LSS) was approached by East New York Urban Youth Corp to collaborate on an affordable housing project and Community Center in Brooklyn. LSS joined the Brooklyn non-profit and worked with future tenants and community members to redesign the public spaces, then collaborated with local artists to work in fabricating these elements. The project’s success inspired the later formation of HSC to work with communities in need on design-build projects.In 2001, LSS relocated to Hester Street in New York City’s Chinatown. Across the street was the public Sun Yat Sen middle school, or M.S. 131. Architects from LSS approached the school to work with students to design and build a new garden in the neglected front yards. Over two years, an architectural education program was linked to M.S. 131’s core curriculum. The program, later named Ground Up, introduced students to architectural concepts through design exercises and workshops culminating in a campus or community improvement project. [http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=1778] The Ground Up program encourages students to transform the quality of life in their schools and their neighborhoods, integrating elements of the academic curriculum into nonverbal, accessible, hands-on projects. HSC’s educational programs meet New York State learning standards and benchmarks for arts education.

Avenue of the Immigrants

To honor the 2004 co-naming of Allen Street to “The Avenue of the Immigrants”, HSC worked with local residents, cultural organizations, and Ground Up students at M.S. 131 to create an installation on the Allen Street malls. The two-year long project celebrated a broad range of immigrants, artists, activists, and even buildings that have contributed to the rich cultural history and diversity of Manhattan's Lower East Side communities. [http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_154/architectsandstudents.html ] "Avenue of the Immigrants" was designed to strengthen the community led effort to reclaim the Allen and Pike Street corridors. [http://nycgovparks.org/sub_newsroom/video/index.html?key=26&search=]

Sara D. Roosevelt Park

In 2006, an effort was announced to renovate Chinatown's Sara D. Roosevelt Park (SDR). Local residents, community groups, and schools formed the SDR Coalition to take an active role in the reconstruction efforts. HSC held multiple "Visioning Days" and other activities to promote the community’s involvement in the new design for the park. “We are looking for ways to reach out to the predominately Chinese speaking park users, a group that is typically not involved in civic processes,” explained Anne Frederick, HSC's Executive Director. “These games are designed to be nonverbal, and fun." The project is still being developed by the SDR Coalition. [http://www.hesterstreet.org/press-releases/SDR_pressrelease_06.10.09.pdf] [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/27/nyregion/27park.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=hester%20street%20collaborative&st=cse&oref=slogin ]

Allen/Pike St. Medians

Drawing on the successful model and installation of the "Avenue of the Immigrants" installation, HSC is currently involved in the re-design of the Allen and Pike Street Malls in Lower Manhattan to ensure that their design responds to the needs and aspirations of local residents. HSC is part of the UNRAP coalition (United Neighbors for the Revitalization of Allen and Pike). Other members are the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Lower East Side BID, Asian Americans for Equality, Community Board 3, Councilmember Alan J. Gerson, and the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council. HSC acts as the facilitator of a community visioning/design charrette process which will include site analysis, surveys, usage studies, and community design activities in order to build consensus and generate design recommendations for the Parks Department.

Community Garden

HSC is actively involved with the P.S. 134 Community Garden, which serves as an outdoor classroom for elementary schoolers, as well as a green space for other community members. For many youth in the Ground Up program at P.S.134, their work in the community garden project is often their first exposure to nature and the alternative learning environment that a hands-on, “design-build” project can offer.

Citizen Design Internship

HSC is involved with an ongoing high-school internship. The internship, during school and in the summer, provides high-school students with opportunities to gain hands-on experience with community improvement projects. Interns are encouraged to develop a sense of leadership as they play an active role in developing and designing tools for creating public art and design projects. The Citizen Designer Blog can be accessed at http://www.hesterstreetcollaborative.blogspot.com/.

References