My broader research question has been looking at how Pratt is serving to advocate for community needs in the spaces they are working this summer. I have observed this process happening primarily through surveying community members and groups interests (for the Hunts Point Forward plan), then condensing into formal recommendations translated to “planner speak”, which then will be sent to the city government for implementation. The ESCR CAG project has been more direct feedback, but less directed, as the Community Advisory Group is an ongoing meeting, which results in letters written to developers working on the installation of the floodwalls and those organizations who will take over the re-beautification of the park itself.
My biggest touch point with community members in Hunts Point is through data entry of survey responses. I spent time speaking to individuals directly at the Fish Parade and at the youth workshops Pratt hosted, but the most notable information was gleaned from the anonymous surveys I spent inputting into my spreadsheets. From both Spanish and English speaking respondents, the suggestions and requests remained largely the same.
The Hunts Point investment project means a lot to the community. The focus has more on boosting the work that community groups are already doing, as well as advocating for basic needs to be met. Think: better street lighting, regular trash receptacles and pick up, increased transit access, etc.
A lot of respondents had lived in Hunts Point for their entire lives, or had been in the area for upwards of 20 years. From what I have gleaned, Hunts Point for the residents is a place that families stay for generations, but its space for living, less for working and recreation. A call from the community is to increase recreation and programming for youth and seniors– having space to enjoy in close proximity to ones house is so crucial for an enjoyable life. Hunts Point has a number of parks and waterfront spaces that are lovely for gatherings and for play, but getting to them can be difficult, and sometimes dangerous.
Hopes for the future from residents is that there is better access to shops and restaurants in their peninsula, checking off the basic needs and recreation boxes for a good life. For being the largest food distribution center, access to affordable, high quality food was one response that was more common than I had expected, given the sheer amount of food products that flow through the peninsula’s distribution centers on a given day.
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