Town Hall 2017: When the LES Talks, Henry Street Listens
By Henry Street Settlement
Above: one of the workshops discussing the issues that matter to Lower East Side Residents.
How did hundreds of Lower East Siders spend this past Sunday – a glorious and unseasonably warm day? Those concerned about the future of the neighborhood came indoors to participate in Henry Street’s Fourth Annual Town Hall held on October 22 at 301 Henry Street.
“The most important thing for a community-based organization to do is listen,” David Garza, Executive Director of Henry Street, told the audience. “That’s why we’re here. We need to know what’s happening with our community members so we can plan for the future.”
The event wasn’t all work and no play. Attendees were entertained by two dance troupes, one from the Abrons Arts Center and one from the Jacob Riis Cornerstone program, whose performances raised the volume and energy of the room. The event closed with beautiful vocal performances by both youth and adult ensembles comprised of Abrons Arts Center students.
Above: dancers from our Cornerstone program – click here to see video on our Twitter!
Elected officials spoke briefly, praising both attendees and Henry Street for their commitment to the community. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, who has been at all four Town Halls, noted that Henry Street was the only settlement house to host an event like this. Also speaking were New York City Council Member Margaret Chin, and New York State Assembly Members Yuh-Line Niou and Brian Kavanagh.
Above, clockwise from top left: New York City Council Member Margaret Chin, State Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou, Borough President Gale Brewer and State Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh.
After assembling in a large group where Garza gave a brief presentation, attendees broke into smaller workgroups, each addressing a specific issue such as education, housing/gentrification, jobs, public safety, and senior concerns. The group then reconvened to hear a spokesperson from each group give a brief report on findings.
Garza noted that many initiatives that have emerged from past Town Halls including the establishment of the Community Advisory Board and the hiring of a team of Outreach Assistants at the Settlement; housing workshops with GOLES; and, at the Abrons Arts Center, a transparent tuition assistance program, more family-friendly programming, outdoor events and a winter holiday show.
The Town Hall featured simultaneous translation services for monolingual Chinese and Spanish speakers, free childcare and a catered dinner to close the evening. Both the Community Advisory Board and Henry Street team members worked hard to make the event a success.
A full report of the findings of the Town Hall, which includes findings of the focus groups Henry Street conducts throughout the year, is now available here.
