To establish a local park group, along our core programming around economic development and civic engagement as mutually reinforcing efforts to create a strong, vibrant community around Rainey Park and in the Bronx.
Leader
Alpha Diallo
Location
Intervale Ave & Kelly Street Bronx, NY 10459
So few families use Rainey Park, despite the lack of public and green space in this part of the South Bronx. This is mainly due to the perception that the Park is located in an unsafe neighborhood, inhabitted by very diverse communities. The purpose of our project is to raise visibility of our work and increase community engagement and civic participation by providing outdoor outreach activities in Rainey Park, a beautiful yet underutilized oasis adjacent to our office space.
We also plan to conduct a series of events in Rainey Park this fall: park clean up and beautification; pop-up IDNYC enrollment; engagement in financial literacy educational programming, “know your rights” workshops, and citizenship clinics; and connections to other supportive services like SNAP and Medicaid enrollment.
This two-pronged project—providing opportunities for our stakeholders to be of service to the community at large while connecting them to needed services—will position both Pan-African CDI and Rainey Park as essential neighborhood assets that promote community vitality, health and wellbeing, and civic engagement. By hosting outreach activities and community service events in a public space like Rainey Park, we are not only assisting our constituents in becoming more self-reliant and engaged community members, but also deepening connections between Bronx residents and their neighborhood green spaces.
We have three major activities planned as part of this project. We are working with our Outreach Coordinator to establish a local park group to provide stewardship and visioning for Rainey Park, which our office space (shared with Mothers on the Move) overlooks.
Our goal is to create among our constituents a sense of ownership over local resources and assets, including their parks and green spaces. We see the local park group as one critical component of this essential work: through community service activities, our members will form relationships with one another, with civic institutions, and with our service providers, who will engage them on an ongoing basis in economic development opportunities and supportive social services. By hosting outreach activities and community service events in a public space like Rainey Park, we are not only assisting our constituents in becoming more self-reliant and engaged community members, but also deepening connections between Bronx residents and their neighborhood green spaces.