During the pandemic lockdown, Ditmas Park's porch concerts and street clean-ups transformed the neighborhood's art scene and were a crucial source for safe cultural programming.
The lockdown is long gone. But these events are here to stay, thanks to Beautify Brooklyn, a nonprofit that creates free community programming revolving around arts and the environment.
Now, the organization has grown beyond Ditmas Park and is known for a handful of events that thread together public arts and ecological restoration, including Earthy Girthy, an annual Coney Island environmental arts festival happening on July 9.
The organization's first large-scale event, Artmageddon, is an outdoor music and art festival in Ditmas Park that is set up entirely on people's porches. This year's Artmageddon is on Oct. 1, and is currently accepting artist submissions.
Lifelong Brooklynite, public school teacher and former Brooklyn borough president candidate Robert Elstein created the organization in 2021 as both a passion project and a political platform.
"Beautify Brooklyn was yet another positive element from the pandemic," Elstein told BK Reader.
"I have been organizing neighborhood cleanups since 2014, and I never felt the need to formalize any of these initiatives. But, with the pandemic limiting indoor activities and also making it very difficult for people to have any one-on-one socialization, I realized that Beautify Brooklyn could be a way to strengthen the bonds of the community and not just improve our community's landscape."
Elstein began Beautify Brooklyn as a way to do the work he hoped to do as Brooklyn borough president before his campaign ended.
However, inspired by the resilience of the community and the support of volunteer networks, including notable groups like 5PM Porch Concerts and Operation Gig, Beautify Brooklyn transcended the vision of its founder and now represents the collective spirit of Brooklyn, he said.
"I was not a typical candidate in that I am, first and foremost, an artist," Elstein said. "My campaign's focal point was always to speak to the importance of the arts in growing communities. However, climate change is also one of the most important issues affecting communities worldwide... And if we don't get serious about it today, there will be no Brooklyn left to beautify. Let's enjoy and care for our home while we still have it."
The group's first large-scale event, Artmageddon, an art and music festival on the porches and in the gardens of Ditmas Park, took place in June 2021. The local free festival gave artists a public platform and gave visitors a chance to interact with the arts both in front of them and embedded within the Victorian architecture of Flatbush.
Since 2021, the organization has ventured beyond Ditmas Park and hosted community cleanups, trash to treasure workshops and Open Streets programming with community groups throughout the borough.
"The most rewarding thing about Beautify Brooklyn has always been its collaborative spirit," Elstein said. "To meet new collaborators and to introduce people who start working together and become close friends is amazing. But that is just one aspect of Beautify Brooklyn. The impact we have on the landscape and the ecology of New York City has an impact on the future. The planet is a big place, but the way we can each really help — at least on a social level — is here."
Driven by a steadfast commitment to programming, community experiences and a thriving volunteer network, Beautify Brooklyn continues to evolve and expand to fit the needs of communities across the borough, Elstein said.
"We are engaging in a fight. But it's a fight that is disguised as a party. Ultimately, Beautify Brooklyn is here to inspire, and if you can inspire, then hopefully someone can emerge with a creative solution," Elstein said.
To learn how to get involved in Beautify Brooklyn, click here.
