Partnership for Resilient Communities Oral Storytelling Project: NOS QUEDAMOS
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by
Edwin Pagan
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Nos Quedamos’ Chief Executive Director, Jessica Clemente, and Co-Founder, Anna Vincenty, were recently interviewed for the Partnership for Resilient Communities’ Oral Storytelling Project about the maverick organization’s colorful history, its groundbreaking signature projects, and current work.
THROUGH ENGAGEMENT, NOS QUEDAMOS (NQ) DISCOVERED THAT ONE OF THE COMMUNITY’S PRIORITIES IS ESTABLISHING 12 COMMUNITY GARDENS. The community gardens function as a source of local healthy food and a safe place where residents can gather and build community. NQ partnered with community members to plan out the community garden network and leverage existing gardens into a community-wide system of open spaces. Infrastructure goals with the gardens include solar panels, rainwater harvesting, and wi-fi access to improve environmental impacts and encourage occupancy in the garden sites. Other resources NQ provides include job training, climate resilience leadership, and increased environmental education. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, NQ developed a community needs survey to update their understanding of community needs. NQ will integrate the survey responses into their projects moving forward, which is a perfect example of responsive engagement.
Listen to the full interview below.
Original post and content can be found at PRC’s Storytelling Project page. This initiative is supported by Institute for Sustainable Communities.The project interviews have been conducted by cultural strategist Felicia T. Pérez.
Related Reference Content:
Community gardens in Melrose Commons have the potential to create a coalition in order to become a cohesive system of open spaces that serve for community building and organizing. Melrose Commons is a low income, minority neighborhood that encompasses 35 blocks, located in the South Bronx. There are 12 community gardens within the Melrose Commons area and 9 gardens adjacent to the neighborhood. Download (PDF).
Nos Quedamos, with technical assistance from Hester Street (HST) and support from the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation (MOER) and the NYC Community Land Initiative (NYCCLT), studied the area of Melrose Commons through the lens of a CLT model. This report is the culmination of that work and outlines the mission and development principles for the recently created South Bronx Land and Community Resource Trust (SBxLCRT). It also considers opportunities for creating vital housing, energy, and communication infrastructure in Melrose Commons. Download (PDF).