Expansion of the Green Space Connections Program
On April 27, the Public Housing Community Fund (PHCF) announced a $3.3 million, three-year grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (Helmsley) to transform, expand access to, and activate green spaces at four more NYCHA campuses. The Green Space Connections initiative uses NYCHA’s award-winning Connected Communities methodology, which received strategic planning and pilot support from a 2019 grant from Helmsley, to engage and center NYCHA residents in the planning and design process. This marks the program’s second phase, following an initial $3.2 million Helmsley grant announced in November 2022, which transformed four NYCHA campuses.
Access to safe, well-maintained green space is essential to advancing health equity. Research shows a strong connection between access to open space and overall community health. Through a resident-led process, the Green Space Connections program focuses on designing, transforming, and activating NYCHA green spaces in collaboration with public housing residents, designers, and expert green space partners to advance health, climate resilience, and community.
This effort will feature three program elements: participatory design, physical transformation, and programming for sustainability. Together, these phases create inclusive, vibrant spaces that directly enhance the well-being, resilience, safety, and quality of life for NYCHA residents. Work will focus on campuses experiencing health disparities and climate vulnerability, while expanding access to and improving green and open spaces, impacting over 10,000 public housing residents. Site selection is underway, and PHCF will soon announce participating communities in partnership with NYCHA’s Asset and Capital Management and Resident Health Initiatives divisions.
“The Green Space Connections program has been a remarkable success, and with this new funding, we’re excited to continue supporting NYCHA residents in activating and transforming their community spaces, advancing healthier outcomes and an improved quality of life,” said Alex Zablocki, Executive Director of the Public Housing Community Fund. “Public housing campuses are home to expansive green spaces and vital tree canopy, and through this investment from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, we will expand access to and enhance more of these spaces for thousands of residents. There are countless opportunities to elevate NYCHA campuses through meaningful resident engagement that reflects community needs, and this program exemplifies that potential. We’re grateful to Helmsley for their continued support and look forward to bringing the next phase of projects to life.”
“At Helmsley, we know that increasing access to beautiful, activated, green space supports improved mental and physical health for the great number of New York City residents living in NYCHA housing. We continue to be impressed with the Public Housing Community Fund’s work driving great partnerships to green more of NYCHA’s open spaces, and the NYCHA residents have been impressive innovators participating in the design of their own backyards. We are excited to see what PHCF achieves with this next project and the benefits it brings to the city of New York,” said Tracy Perrizo, Program Officer for Helmsley’s New York City Program.
“Access to safe, vibrant green spaces is vital for the health and well-being of our communities,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “By expanding the Green Space Connections program, we are turning underutilized areas into thriving community hubs, guided by a participatory design process that incorporates the needs of the residents who live there. We are grateful to the Public Housing Community Fund and the Helmsley Charitable Trust for their generous support and commitment to NYCHA families.”
The next phase of Green Space Connections builds on the success of the program’s first phase, launched in 2022, which funded projects at Marlboro Houses and Roosevelt Houses in Brooklyn, and Castle Hill Houses and Patterson Houses in the Bronx. Through participatory design, over 14,000 residents helped reimagine their open spaces, expand greenery, and improve access to underutilized areas. These projects were realized in close coordination with each development’s property management team and NYCHA’s Asset and Capital Management division.
Patterson Houses celebrated the completion of transformed open spaces, including two new playgrounds, an adult fitness area, and basketball court upgrades. At Castle Hill Houses, residents chose to add NYCHA’s first dog park to their green space on the campus, alongside a new BBQ area and seating area. Work at Marlboro Houses and Roosevelt Houses is under construction, with new landscaped areas, seating plazas, trees, expanded lawn access, and improved play spaces. The projects at Marlboro and Roosevelt are expected to be completed this summer.
Through physical and programmatic improvements to these green spaces and ongoing activations, PHCF and NYCHA, along with their green space partners, are working to improve the physical environment for residents – many of whom are children and seniors. Improvements will address physical design, access, and lighting, thereby enhancing residents’ quality of life. Green Space Connections will continue to be informed by an in-depth participatory design process informed by data and resident input, followed by a resident capacity-building program to enhance what NYCHA’s sustainability for the activation and long-term stewardship of revitalized spaces.
This effort is part of NYCHA’s award-winning Connected Communities program, which focuses on transforming and modernizing open spaces through public-private partnerships. The program’s efforts are based on participatory planning and design and aim to create vibrant, safer, and more resilient open spaces in NYCHA communities.
Photos of Green Space Connections projects are courtesy of the Public Housing Community Fund
