Nine Brooklyn nonprofits have been awarded $1.3 million from the New York Community Trust to continue their work improving equity in the borough.
The nonprofits are amongst 71 citywide that have been given $9.5 million from the trust to improve the quality of life for New Yorkers across a range of areas â" from healthcare to education â" including challenges left by the COVID-19 pandemic, the trust said in a press release.
Shawn Morehead, vice president for grants at The New York Community Trust, said nonprofits played a vital role in creating a stronger and more equitable Brooklyn.
âWith this latest round of grants to Brooklyn nonprofits, weâre investing in efforts to advance health, give voice to those who are often unheard, and ensure that long-neglected parts of our community are able to recover from the effects of COVID-19.â
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences was awarded $340,000 to develop new therapies to treat diabetes. NYCT said the nonprofit would also study the treatment of a type of diabetes sometimes referred to as âFlatbush diabetes,â which is often resistant to insulin and affects many Black patients from Flatbush.
Project EATS was awarded $200,000 for a closed-circuit community radio and internet network for residents of Brownsville and Belmont, neighborhoods with large numbers of Black residents where decades of disinvestment and institutional racism have led to poverty and poor health.
NYCT said the network would broadcast resident-led events to residents, young and old, ranging from community gardening videos to content that promotes good nutrition.
BlackSpace was awarded $164,000 to design an organizational strategy and community archive for Brownsville Heritage House, which preserves and promotes local cultural heritage through arts, education and history.
Bridge Street Development Corporation received $100,000 to organize homeowners, tenants, and business owners to improve Bedford Stuyvesant. The grant will be used to expand the groupâs merchant network so it can work with its coalition of almost 50 block and tenant associations in the area, as well as develop a post-pandemic commercial revitalization plan, emphasizing support for locally owned businesses, NYCT said.
Theater Mitu was awarded $150,000 to provide 10-month fellowships to nine women, transgender, and non-binary artists of color working at the intersection of performance and technology.
Also in the arts, International Studio and Curatorial Program received $100,000 to provide six-month residencies to three diverse, emerging visual artists, which will give them access to private studios, meetings with visiting critics, and widely promoted opportunities to present their work.
Roulette was awarded $100,000 to provide one-year fellowships for four experimental composers that include coaching from artists and technical staff, and two public performances; Smack Mellon Studios received $90,000 for a one-year fellowship to support six emerging, visual artists in the creation and exhibition of new work; and Gallim Dance Company got $75,000 to provide two-week residencies to 14 young female and gender-nonconforming choreographers of color.
Finally, Laundromat Project was awarded $100,000 for four one-year, socially-engaged public art residencies that will give artists of color personal mentors, coaching, advisory sessions, and workshops, as well as publicly promoted presentations of their work.
