Pratt Center for Community Development

The [http://prattcenter.net/ Pratt Center] , which is located at 379 DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, is the oldest university-based advocacy planning and technical assistance organization in the United States. Focusing primarily on New York City, It leverages the professional skills of Pratt Institute's other departments — architecture, design, and urban planning — to work for a more just, equitable, and sustainable urban environment.

The Pratt Center was established to create a partnership between the Pratt Institute's planning department and local organizations struggling to address issues of urban deterioration and poverty. The Pratt Center continues to work with Pratt, particularly the Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment, as a source of and resource for faculty, a place of employment and involvement for students, and an important bridge between classroom study and the neighborhoods of New York City.

Staff

#Director of Policy and Advocacy: Andrea Anderson
#Director, Sustainability and Environmental Justice Initiative: Joan Byron
#Organizer for Public Policy Campaigns: Elena Conte
#Planner: Paula Crespo
#Associate Director: Janelle Farris
#Sustainability Project Manager and NYSERDA Energy $mart coordinator: Wendy Fleischer
#Development Director: Margaret Fox
#GIS Specialist: Justin Kray
#Director: Brad Lander
#Development and Communications Associate: Jessalee Landfried
#Senior Planner: Mercedes Narciso
#Director of Fiscal and Administrative Affairs: Mohendra Ramsarup
#Senior Construction Manager: Bill Riley
#Administrative Assistant: Marva Wallace
#Director of Planning and Preservation: Vicki Weiner

Advisory Board

As a department of Pratt Institute, the Pratt Center is governed by the Pratt Institute Board of Trustees. In addition, they have created another body that also provides guidance and is comprised of individuals from community and civic organizations, as well as academic and philanthropic institutions that are among the Pratt Center's current stakeholders.

*Chair: Gary Hattem, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation

*Board Members

#Andy Altman
#Peter Barna, Provost, Pratt Institute
#Vicki Been, Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy
#Max Bond, Davis, Brody & Bond
#Ramon Cruz, Environmental Defense
#Steven Flax, M & T Bank
#Marilyn Gelber, Independence Community Foundation
#Colvin Grannum, Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
#Thomas Hanrahan, School of Architecture, Pratt Institute
#John Mollenkopf, Center for Urban Research, CUNY Graduate Center
#Mike Pratt, Scherman Foundation
#Damaris Reyes, Public Housing Residents of the Lower East Side
#John Shapiro, Abeles, Phillips, Preiss & Shapiro
#Brian Sullivan, Sullivan Consulting
#Alexie Torres-Fleming, Youth Ministries for Peace & Justice
#Roger Williams, Annie E. Casey Foundation
#Ayse Yonder, Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment, Pratt Institute

Funders

#Booth Ferris Foundation
# [http://www.citigroup.com/citigroup/corporate/foundation/ Citigroup Foundation]
# [http://www.coned.com/ Consolidated Edison]
# [http://www.db.com/index_e.htm Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation]
# [http://www.enterprisecommunity.org/ Enterprise Community Partners]
#Elizabeth Gilmore
# [http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org/ Fannie Mae Foundation Fund of the Homebuilding Community Foundation]
# [http://www.fordfound.org/ Ford Foundation]
#Garfield Foundation
# [http://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/3/personal/inside/about/community/cr HSBC Bank USA]
# [http://www.icfny.org/index.htm Independence Community Foundation]
# [http://www.jmkfund.org/ J.M. Kaplan Fund]
# [http://www.jpmorganchase.com/cm/cs?pagename=Chase/Href&urlname=jpmc/community/grants J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation]
# [http://www.mandtbank.com/ M & T Bank]
# [http://www.merckff.org Merck Family Fund]
# [http://www.mertzgilmore.org/ Mertz Gilmore Foundation]
# [http://www.nyc.gov/html/dycd/html/home/home.shtml New York City Department of Youth and Community Development]
# [http://www.nycommunitytrust.org New York Community Trust]
# [http://www.nysca.org/ New York State Council on the Arts]
# [http://www.nyserda.org/default.as New York State Energy Research & Development Authority]
# [http://www.soros.org/ Open Society Institute]
# [http://www.rsclark.org/ Robert Sterling Clark Foundation]
# [http://www.rbf.org/ Rockefeller Brothers Fund]
# [http://www.rockfound.org/ Rockefeller Foundation]
# [http://www.scherman.org/ Scherman Foundation]
#Scheuer Foundation
# [http://www.surdna.org/ Surdna Foundation]
#Taconic Foundation
# [http://www.taprootfoundation.org/ Taproot Foundation]
# [http://www.hud.gov/ US Department of Housing and Urban Development]

History

Founded in 1963 with a grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Pratt Center's original goal was to create a partnership between Pratt Institute’s planning department and local New York organizations struggling to address issues of urban deterioration and poverty.

Central Brooklyn, New York

One of the Pratt Center's first major projects was to help the Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council evaluate the impact of a proposed urban renewal plan on their neighborhoods. The planning model which grew out of that endeavor integrated housing, economic, and social planning considerations. This collaborative effort attracted the attention of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and led to the establishment of one of the first Ford Foundation funded Community Development Corporations in the country - the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. With this early experience, the Pratt Center's role as an advocate for community empowerment was established, and the demand for the Pratt Center's program services expanded rapidly.

Participant Education

In 1965, under a federal Higher Education Act grant, the Pratt Center launched a participant education program to assist and train local residents in the process of community development. This was followed by a series of leadership training courses and the Pratt Center's sponsorship of the [Central Brooklyn Neighborhood College. Administered by community residents, this University of the Streets program was targeted primarily to African—Americans and Latinos who had either dropped out of high school or lacked access to higher education.

Pratt Planning and Architectural Collaborative

A division of the Pratt Center, now the Pratt Planning and Architectural Collaborative, was formed in 1975 to provide direct architectural services to neighborhood-based housing groups who were taking on an increasing number of projects in communities where quality professional assistance was either unavailable or too costly.

Pratt Community Economic Development Internship Program

In 1984, with the cooperation of the Development Training Institute, the Pratt Center established the Pratt Community Economic Development Internship, a program designed to build the capacity of community-based organizations to carry out housing and community economic development projects. Nearly 300 community leaders graduated from the program during its 12 years of operation.

Initiatives

The Pratt Center works to strengthen communities and their infrastructure. That requires them to work at many different levels:
#the lot and block,
#the neighborhood,
#the city, and
#the region.
*The architecture and construction team makes sure needed structures get built or rehabilitated, and that they are affordable and environmentally sustainable.
*The city planners focus on the larger neighborhood and its capacity for supporting the resources its residents, businesses, and institutions need.
*The policy and sustainable development initiatives push for city—, state—, and region—wide practices that make it possible for communities to plan, build, and grow healthier and more prosperous.

Community Planning

* [http://www.prattcenter.net/community_planning.php Pratt works with New Yorkers in neighborhoods across the city to identify what they need from the built environment and help them shape their communities through the city planning process.]

Equitable Development Policy and Advocacy

* [http://www.prattcenter.net/equitable_development.php Pratt works to ensure that development brings meaningful benefits—especially good jobs and affordable housing—to low-income New Yorkers.]

ustainability and Environmental Justice

* [http://www.prattcenter.net/sustainability.php Pratt supports organizations and advocate practices that move the New York City region toward environmental sustainability and equity.]

Helping Communities Build

* [http://www.prattcenter.net/helpingcommunities.php Pratt helps community-based organizations develop places neighborhoods need, including child care centers, schools, libraries, and open space, and promote innovation in architecture and green building.]

ervices

# [http://www.prattcenter.net/architecture.php Architectural Assistance] oriented toward enhancing and effectively utilizing organizations' physical development capacity in the face of growing community need.
# [http://www.prattcenter.net/community_planning.php Community Planning Assistance] to help communities shape the future development of their neighborhoods.
# [http://www.prattcenter.net/pol-resadv.php Policy Research and Advocacy] to develop the tools and policies needed to promote sustainable, equitable, community-led development.
# [http://www.prattcenter.net/training.php Training and Education] to help build the leadership and skills of community development and environmental justice practitioners, especially those who come from disenfranchised communities.

Recent Activities

# [ http://prattcenter.net/gutrehab.php Time for a Gut Rehab: How the Next Governor Can Rebuild New York State's Affordable Housing Legacy]
# [http://prattcenter.net/pubs/ib-hudsonyardsbrief.pdf Affordable Housing and the Hudson Yards Rezoning]
# [ http://prattcenter.net/pubs/ib-gw-wage.pdf Prevailing Wage Requirement for Building Service Workers in the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Rezoning Area ]
* [ http://prattcenter.net/pubs/PrattCenter-Position_on_Transportation_Bond_Act_2005.pdf Rebuild and Renew Transportation Bond Act]
# [ http://prattcenter.net/pubs/PrattCenter-Queens_West_Issue_Brief.pdf Queens West Issue Brief]

Current Activities

# [http://prattcenter.net/pubs/PrattCenter-Shortchanging_Working_Families_in_Queens.pdf Shortchanging Working Families in Queens]
# [http://prattcenter.net/transportationequity.php extremecommutes The Pratt Center Transportation Equity Project]

Results

Over the years the Pratt Center's policy analysis and advocacy initiatives have earned it a national reputation, particularly on issues of community planning, land use, inclusionary zoning, community economic development and affordable housing.

ource

[http://prattcenter.net/index.php|The Pratt Center for Community Development] ]

References

"The City is Their Laboratory", Village Voice 8/6/2007: [http://www.villagevoice.com/arts/0731,aaron,77414,12.html]