A Summer Camp in New York City

Two weeks ago, I joined 150 New Yorkers for the first See NYC cohosted by Breakout and The David Prize. Over the three day “summer camp experience,” changemakers from across the city connected with each other and learned more about remarkable organizations advancing life-changing work throughout New York. 

We started at the Brooklyn Army Terminal with a conversation from NYC EDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball outlining the city’s economic growth and a vision for its future. Then, attendees dispersed for their breakouts, visiting more than two dozen organizations across the five boroughs over three days. In just a sampling of the sites, we learned about youth programs at Urban Assembly and The Brooklyn Basketball Training Center, ventured into nature with The Bronx River Alliance and Billion Oyster Project, and explored arts and culture with The Hip Hop Museum, the National Black Theater, and Sing Harlem.

At Oko Farms in Brooklyn, we saw how the ancient practice of aquaponics is alive and well, helping to grow a wide range of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers in the middle of the concrete jungle. When asked how she first got into farming, the founder Yemi Amu explained that years ago, she had been hired by a supportive housing community to help prepare meals. After beginning though, she learned that the community only had a budget for her salary, not the actual food and supplies. So together with community members, she started an urban farm onsite to grow many of the items needed for the meals. This collective action and resilience sparked her initial love for farming, and she has since led the creation of more than 20 edible spaces across the city.

Making marigold oil at Oko Farms | Photo credit: Argenis Apolinario

On our last morning as we traveled from Roosevelt Island to The Shed for a conversation with MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber and Two Trees CEO Jed Walentas, I started chatting with a fellow attendee, Barbara Anderson. After serving as a middle school teacher for 30 years, Barbara founded the organization Art on the Avenue, which showcases the artwork of local, traditionally underrepresented artists in the windows of empty retail locations, often in communities that typically don't have direct access to artwork. By transforming these vacant spaces into galleries and studios for artists, Barbara brightens the streetscapes in the communities, provides artists with a platform to highlight and market their work, and provides value to building owners. It's a win-win-win for everyone involved, and it is a model program Barbara hopes business improvement districts across the city will adopt to drive further scale. 

Next year will be my twentieth year in the city, and yet, over two decades, I hadn't heard of many of the inspiring organizations or visited the incredible communities we had a chance to experience over just three short days. See NYC was a reminder that every day across New York City, there are good things being done by good people if we only take a little time to see them.