NYCHA Youth Present Design Plans for Local Community Centers

Middle school youth from five NYCHA developments across the city spent part of their summer designing new multi-use spaces for their local community centers. 

Working together through the NYCHA STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) Innovators program, the young residents from Eastchester Gardens, as well as Roosevelt II, West Brighton, Manhattanville, and Ravenswood Houses, had the opportunity to showcase their plans to community stakeholders earlier this month. The program – a partnership between NYCHA, the Salvadori Center, and the Public Housing Community Fund – allows students to work alongside STEAM educators and professional designers to learn and create a design proposal for a re-purposed space at their community centers.  

In developing their concepts, the youth created vision boards and prototype sketches and conducted community interviews to better understand the needs of the people who regularly use their neighborhood’s community center. The design proposals, supported with 3D models and technical floor plans, were unveiled by the students during recent presentations at the five NYCHA community centers.    

On August 13, NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt attended one of the pitch presentations at Staten Island’s West Brighton Houses, where she commended the young participants’ creative process, noting how it relates to the Authority’s work to transform developments to better serve residents. Ms. Bova-Hiatt was joined by representatives from State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton’s office, the nonprofit Salvadori Center, and the Public Housing Community Fund.  

“It’s really clear from what we saw and heard this morning that you’ve been working hard, collaborating with great mentors, and have put a lot of thought, passion, and enthusiasm into your creative efforts,” Ms. Bova-Hiatt told the students. “While having fun with this very awesome experience, maybe you got some inspiration and gained some skills for a future career path – because STEAM is definitely a great way to go, in terms of securing a strong future for you and your family while contributing to the world around us.”  

The West Brighton youth reimagined their community center room as a new learning space for engineering and cosmetology programs. Their plans also featured a mural design based on those themes. For the other community centers selected this summer, STEAM Innovators envisioned a multipurpose after-school space at Roosevelt II Houses; a multipurpose space for youth and adult programming at Manhattanville Houses; a room featuring a lounge, cafe, game, and art area at Eastchester Gardens; and a multipurpose space with a calming nook at Ravenswood Houses.   

Throughout the summer sessions, the NYCHA youth learned how architects and designers create communal spaces, including layout, floor plans, scale drawings, and materials selection. Field trips are also part of the program, and West Brighton students visited the WSP engineering firm to deepen their STEAM learning.  

This fall, the students’ visions for the five remodeled community rooms will be brought to life with the help of partners and volunteers.