Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program – Meeting 8

On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, the NSF Center for Smart StreetScapes (CS3) held its eighth Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program workshop. The session was moderated by Ester Fuchs. The focus of this workshop was to “flip the script” of session flow by having CPRs begin to present the focus areas of the work they do in the Harlem community as well as their perspectives on where there may be opportunities for improvements through tech. The session’s presentations highlighted the work of Curtis Archer, the President of the Harlem Community Development Corporation (HCDC) as well as Janet Rodriguez, Founder and CEO of SoHarlem after opening remarks by Ester Fuchs.

Curtis Archer, President of HCDC opened with a description of the mission, vision, and overarching goals of HCDC. He emphasized the scope of HCDC being an agency that is tasked with strengthening the Upper Manhattan communities through effective and accessible community revitalization programs and initiatives focusing on small business services, community development, and weatherization. A subsidiary of New York State’s Empire State Development, HCDC is responsible for the areas including East Harlem, Central Harlem, West Harlem, and Washington Heights and has a broad influence across the community. Curtis highlighted the work of the agency in helping to support small businesses through webinars, certification assistance as well as financial and technical trainings. Further, economic development initiatives include the Community and Economic Revitalization Support Program (CERSP) which provides grant funding in support of projects and programs including tourism, direct community services and economic development, and minority & women-owned business support . The grants range from twenty-five to forty thousand dollars and beyond depending on the size of the recipient organization and were in part established as give-backs through contributions from Columbia University during their expansion into Manhattanville. In 2023, the CERSP program received numerous applications and approved over $707,747 in grant funding.

Curtis also detailed the influence of the corporation, both historically and currently, in real estate development such as the recent renovation and grand opening of the Victoria Theater on 125th Street, which is owned by HCDC. Of late, HCDC has been focused on providing heating and cooling conversion help for low to moderate income families through new appliances, insulation, lighting, heaters, etc. Beyond weatherization there are also efforts, building on the previous history of real estate development by the corporation, to convert more properties into affordable housing or new office space. It was noted that HCDC’s recent focus has shifted heavily towards supporting small businesses and developing the local economy. When asked about the future and impact of technology in this space, he was quick to note that the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one that is of particular interest to HCDC and local small businesses. He’s excited about the possibilities that AI can provide to small businesses and looks forward to further connections between the research community and all the businesses in which HCDC holds interest, such as the new Victoria Theater.

Following Curtis Archer’s presentation was a discussion by Janet Rodriguez, the Founder and CEO of SoHarlem, which is a 501c3 organization she founded in 2011 with a focus on creating equitable opportunities for community members working at the intersection of the arts and economic development inits surrounding communities of Central Harlem, West Harlem, Washington Heights, and the South Bronx, . The organization serves as an incubator for creative entrepreneurs by providing affordable spaces and access to the necessary equipment for artists particularly those in the fashion industry. Beyond helping to develop the next generation of fashion brands, SoHarlem offers apprenticeships, skill-based workshops for underemployed community members, and external community engagement through pop-up events and local shopping opportunities. Janet’s hope is that the CS3 program and technology in general can help to increase visibility and awareness of SoHarlem in the community. In particular, an ability to generate greater awareness of SoHarlem’s program outside of its building, where it is not at the street level but on the third floor, will encourage more community members – especially those with disabilities- to find their way in and participate in all the available programming.

Core programs of SoHarlem include the aforementioned entrepreneurial incubation program, which provides local designers with space to practice and develop their craft; and the Designer Apprenticeship Program, which gives individuals the resources they need to break into the fashion industry and build careers. SoHarlem also offers a Creative Economy Training Institute, which seeks to teach unemployed and underemployed Harlem residents new, marketable sewing skills and place them in jobs locally. Aside from these core programs, SoHarlem also participates in public art programs, including a joint mural project which involved a local church and artist Manu Vega, a “Street Park Rangers” program which seeks to educate children on the importance of environmental health and caring for street tree installations, and some art programs such as a cultural tourism program with expert guidance and a partner curriculum, as well as programs for previously incarcerated women. SoHarlem has also experimented with entering the retail space, conducting a 4-month-long experimental showroom in the Malt House building next door. It was noted that spreading awareness for the program on the street level has been challenging due to the obscured nature of being housed on an upper floor. Currently, SoHarlem also operates a small retail shop for individual shoppers within its incubation space called Shop SoHarlem. Janet emphasized that all of these programs aim to more deeply connect SoHarlem as an integrated resource for a variety of the many needs within its service area which is vital to its mission, as opposed to allowing the organization to simply become an arts organization which is somewhat insulated in its purpose. SoHarlem’s successes are demonstrated by the roster of successful artists affiliated with the incubator, including Gladys Perez, Blue Olive, Valerie Deas, and Milan. Results from regular SoHarlem impact surveys also suggest that the organization is perceived to have helped the community greatly with its opportunities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is despite SoHarlem’s relatively constrained budget of <$1M per year.

Upon conclusion of both Curtis and Janet’s presentations, the CPRs dispersed into break-out sessions with CS3 researchers and staff in the room all participating in this session. Many CPRs agreed with Janet’s assessment that visibility and awareness for businesses suffer if they are not located directly at the street level. Which calls for a need for all buildings that house businesses above street-level and that provide accessibility features, to increase their promotional efforts to any pedestrians who may want to enter if only they were aware of all that was inside. To this end, some suggested the implementation of more digital signage and informative mobile applications. In addition, some suggested that they would all benefit from sharing information about their individual organizations and companies between each other.

The next presentation was delivered by Cristian Capotescu, Associate Director of The Trust Collaboratory at Columbia University and CS3 affiliate. He presented on the MyStreetScapes Summer Research Institute for High School Seniors, a summer program launched by CS3’s public interest technology thrust. Students who participate are trained in the social sciences and work hand-in-hand with CS3 engineers in new technologies. They also participate in the development of a neighborhood survey and report on interactions between technology and the citizens of West Harlem. As of the time of this presentation, the program was recruiting for its second summer cohort seeking a maximum of 15 students. Local high school students, with a preference for those in Harlem schools, were encouraged to apply. The CPRs were immediately receptive to the idea, suggesting improvements such as having the students visit places further out in Harlem’s footprint and having them encounter some of the more pressing community issues beyond West Harlem, as long as logistics could permit. CPRs also suggested that the students should also join community board meetings as part of their education, to which Cristian responded enthusiastically. CPRs agreed to assist in sharing the information with their networks.

Fernanda Martinez, Workforce Development Manager at CS3, delivered the final presentation of the session. The CS3 Research Experience for Teachers (RET) is a paid summer research experience for K-12 STEM teachers who work in NYC. The goal is to help these teachers learn the fundamentals of technology with a streetscape focus, learn more about culturally inclusive pedagogy, and to allow teachers to bring new knowledge back to their students, often in the form of a lesson plan. Eligibility extends to math- or science-certified US citizens or permanent residents teaching at public middle or high schools in NYC, with a particular preference for teachers in the Harlem area. Again, CPRs were immediately receptive to the idea, and agreed to share this information with their networks. Two new CPR presenters were selected to present at the next meeting, and the session adjourned.

CPR workshops are invite-only. If you are interested in attending a workshop or learning more about CS3’s community engagement process, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.