Residents’ Ideas Included in NYCHA’s Sustainability Agenda
Mott Haven Houses resident Brigitte Vicenty has been an advocate for a greener NYCHA for a long time. Ten years ago, Ms. Vicenty founded a non-profit organization called “Inner City Green Team” to address low recycling rates and teach and promote recycling education among NYCHA residents. Recently, after completing a five-part workshop series called “Network for Climate Action,” Ms. Vicenty’s ideas for a greener NYCHA, together with other participants’ insights, were mentioned in the Authority’s recently published Sustainability Agenda. “Being highlighted in the agenda is very exciting,” Ms. Vicenty noted. “Realizing that [NYCHA] leadership doesn’t approach this as just another trending topic but takes the problem rather seriously is pretty satisfactory.”
From May to August of this year, NYCHA held resident workshops as part of the Network for Climate Action. The initiative was convened by NYCHA’s Energy & Sustainability and Recovery & Resilience departments. Fifteen NYCHA residents participated in the virtual workshop series about environmental and climate issues that affect their developments. The workshop series, including the feedback and ideas from residents, helped inform the goals and content of NYCHA’s Climate Adaptation Plan and Sustainability Agenda policy documents – and are also helping to shape future NYCHA programs.
Akiera Charles, Project Manager in NYCHA’s Energy & Sustainability Program, said that the participants of the Network generated important ideas and created a network for future partnerships and projects: “It was important to get together people who are so passionate about their developments with those who can help them achieve their goals. Residents’ insight is vital for shaping NYCHA’s sustainability policy. It definitely triggers more transparency and brings fresh ideas to the table.”
To build on the success of the workshop series, NYCHA is launching a Climate Action Grant Program next year to support resident-led sustainability projects. The targeted audience for the small grants program will be Network for Climate Action participants and select NYCHA residents who are organizing on their campuses around environmental sustainability.
Potential projects for this grant opportunity could include community street fair events, recycling events or competitions, gardening tools and materials for an established garden, and resiliency or sustainability-related projects or activities. Additional complimentary programming offered by NYCHA that’s aligned with this grant program will include trainings and a speaker series. A Climate Action Facebook page was created to serve as a forum for participants and future projects and to help build a community around climate action at NYCHA. Stay tuned for more to come…