“In her book Bargaining for Brooklyn: Community Organizations in the Entrepreneurial City, sociologist Nicole Marwell explains: “Sociologists who study organizations sometimes use the term ‘field’ to describe a set of organizations linked together as competitors and collaborators within a social space devoted to a particular type of action—such as a market for certain products, the pursuit of urban development, or the realm of electoral politics. Agreements struck among the organizations that compose a field set the bounds on what kinds of organizational and individual action are possible.”
What other organizations are doing the work you are doing, if any? These may be social service organizations, political representatives, activist groups, or even the city/state/federal government.”
The “field” which my research and supporting efforts are studying would be in the realm of urban development and planning. The specific field site and location in relation to Hunts Point Vision Plan would be the peninsula itself.
Pratt operates as a connective channel, a conduit between New York City Economic Development Corporation and a set of community based organizations in Hunts Point. Pratt facilitates contact and research on what the community needs and wants to see in the next vision plan, sometimes with EDC, and has been gathering all of this data and testimonial to add to the final report. Some organizations which constitute “the field” include Casita Maria, a South Bronx org working to deliver services to Latino youth and families, The Point CDC, a hub for youth development programs within an a corporation dedicated to the cultural and economic revitalization of Hunts Point, Rocking the Boat, which teaches boating and sailing skills, Hunts Point Alliance for Children, and various others.
The other side of this “field”, the more bureaucratic structures include NYC Mayor’s Office of Resiliency, the NYC Parks Planning and Development, Department of Health and Hygiene, Baretto Bay Strategies Consulting firm, and of course NYC EDC.
Primarily, I have had contact with members of EDC. EDC is a corp dedicated to leveraging the city’s assets to promote good jobs and drive growth across all five boroughs. I had the opportunity to visit their office for a meeting discussing solutions and themes for the final vision plan. The Solutions and Ideas meeting took place on the 14th floor of their office which is in the Financial District. The lobby was white marble and staffed with multiple layers or security to direct me to which bank of elevators would take me where I needed to go, which reminded me of the building which houses Senator Gillibrand and Senator Schumer’s offices, except much sleeker. It was all quite a different experience than Pratt Center’s open floor plan, colorful office with huge windows and plants all over. It Certainly emulates the ideal space at a school with a large architecture program.
The EDC office had large, sleek, modern office rooms equipped with high tech and all of the white boards and amenities I expected of their office. I only saw one of three floors but I was impressed and certainly underdressed in my jeans.
After our solutions meeting, my supervisor had me stick around longer to take notes for an initial planning discussion between EDC and Pratt for an event they want to co-sponsor in the fall. Hunts Point Alliance for Children gives away upwards of 500 backpacks and school supplies every year at a fun event with music, bouncy castles, and a barbecue. Pratt and EDC are interested in cosponsoring this event so they have the opportunity to collect feedback on the neighborhood from a demographic which they have struggled to do sufficient outreach with: working class parents and families. Citing that this event would be a good spot to do surveys and have conversations with parents who are typically working or caring for the children during other events that they might have done a recharge, Pratt and EDC were discussing how to tack onto this existing event without overriding the purpose. I very much got the feeling that EDC has the budget to assist with funding a large event like this and that HPAC was interested in a partnership that was beneficial for residents, educationally, and for them financially to offset or at least help cover some costs of their backpack donation drive. All in all, my meeting at the EDC office was great in terms of highlighting the differences between how these two organizations operate in the realm of community development, and it definitely furthered my understanding of how negotiating with other stakeholders operates.
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