Share your ideas through a quick survey here (use words, video, recording, drawing – whatever works!).
All corners of New York City are suffering, in multiple ways, from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic downtown. There are urgent needs to respond to. We’re also in a moment of re-set and recovery, however long it will take. This is a window of time in which decisions have the potential to set new directions, new emphases, new directions.
So often, development happens in a top-down and piece-meal way. How about we turn things around? How about starting with what people already value the most in their neighborhoods, what they would like to change, and what their ideas for the future are?
Over the coming months the Rights Here Project will ask people in all Districts – from District 51 in Staten Island to District 1 in downtown Manhattan – three questions:
- What building or place in your neighborhood means a lot to you, and why?
- What concerns you about the way your neighborhood is developing?
- If you imagine your neighborhood five years from now, what would you like to see?
2021 is a local election year, with multiple open posts at the citywide and district levels. Asking these questions will also help connect people in to how decisions are made, and to the elections.
Share your answers here – don’t take too long on it, and get creative! You can answer in writing, record a voice message, record a short conversation with a friend, a photo, video, or drawing.
The answers will contribute to a collective map of the city. It will be an incomplete picture, of course, but will tell a story – many stories – of New Yorkers’ priorities and aspirations for their neighborhoods at this time. In neighborhoods that have community-led plans, like Bushwick and Chinatown, the map will spotlight those as well.
Looking forward to your ideas! And please spread the word to friends, family, local organizations and schools in your neighborhood for them to join in as well.