Community Partner : Greater Baybrook Alliance Peer Mentor : Yvette Bailey-Emberson Site Supervisor : Sarah Hope
What is Greater Baybrook Alliance ?
Greater Baybrook Alliance ( GBA ) is a non-profit community development organization whose mission is to act as a catalyst and conduit for equitable development and reinvestment in the Brooklyn , Brooklyn Park , Curtis Bay neighborhoods and empower our residents to strengthen the Baybrook community .
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Created program documents for GBA ’ s Housing Developer Incentive Program Utilized CodeMap to document information about vacant properties in the Greater Baybrook area , including owner information , past citations , and unpaid taxes Conducted fieldwork of over 100 vacant properties to provide physical descriptions of the vacant properties available for investment to partners in our Housing Developer Incentive Program Executed outreach via email to community members and stakeholders to gather feedback about a public art initiative
My summer at the Greater Baybrook Alliance was enriching and eye-opening . I explored a new part of the city that I had never really been to before this summer and experienced a new ( to me ) approach to housing justice work . My main project was to develop GBA ’ s Housing Developer Incentive Program . Its goal is to incentivize developers to renovate vacant houses in the Greater Baybrook area to provide affordable homeownership opportunities for residents . Although it was overwhelming at times , it allowed me to truly undertake the project as my own rather than just a task I needed to complete . I knew little to nothing about housing development or renovation before starting but I ’ ve learned so much about housing development and its role in creating housing equity . While conducting fieldwork to document the vacant homes in the area with my coworker , we would talk to neighbors about the program and why we were there . My coworker always stressed that the program was attracting ethical developers that wanted to provide homeownership , which received approving head nods . We were also told more often than not that a vacant home on our radar was already being worked on or was already sold and lived in , which I think demonstrates distrust between the city and the residents . Developers can easily be exploitative and displace families , so of course they would want to renovate the homes themselves , but I was surprised at how common it was .
Working on this project , especially in an unfamiliar community , was extremely valuable because it showed me how diverse housing needs are and the different approaches needed to address them . Although I wish I had more time at GBA , I have insight into how housing development can be addressed from a community-driven standpoint . It is difficult to do so ; even GBA has to rely on grants from the city to offer a program that focuses on affordable renovation and homeownership . But it is essential in the long run . Homes make a community , and I am so grateful to have been able to begin to understand this facet of housing justice . This experience will guide my future work in this field .