Author Archives: J.Walters

Volunteer with the Mission

Wanting to be more involved in Baruch’s student life, I accepted an invitation to join Sigma Alpha Delta. Wanting to be more involved in community life, I joined the volunteer committee and that’s how I found the New York City Rescue Mission.

The NYC Rescue Mission have been feeding the hungry and providing hope to New York’s poorest residents since 1872. Every day more than 500 meals are served three times per day and 150 bags of grocery handed out from the food pantry. It also serves as a home to men who are in need of shelter and also offers a recovery program for those that have hit rock bottom and need to get their life in order.

There is an expansion project in the works, so that the Mission can offer their services to women also. Director of Development, Tom Hall, says there should be three more floors, 18 months from now, that will hold 250 beds. Thirty beds will be set aside for single women in need of emergency shelter and will now serve as a transitional residential program for all in need, not just men.

According to Joe Little, the Director of Community Relations, the expansion project is being funded by a wealthy donor who died recently and left a majority of her estate to the organization and a fundraising venture chaired by Kathy Lee Gifford.

As a nonprofit, most of their help and food comes from volunteers, charities and other organizations willing to lend a hand. Food Bank for NYC and City Harvest are among the top food donors, while Trader’s Joe and similar businesses offer what they can also.

Volunteers are a major part of the program and are present for serving meals, helping in the learning center or the offices. Serving meals to the residents and the men and women that walk in from the streets is a humbling experience. The members of the Brooklyn based Jehovah Will Plumbline Ministries have been doing this every third Saturday of every month for the last five years. Pastor Judy Duncan-Hackett and her team were on hand as usual in November, on the weekend before Thanksgiving, serving loads of food to everyone.

The Thanksgiving banquet that Joe has been promoting so long finally came to fruition and it was successful.

Businesses on Broadway

The Bed-Stuy area has been commercially successful, despite economic stresses and increased criminal activities, and of its many shopping districts, the Broadway strip is one of the most vibrant. The block is home to businesses from Granite Street to Weirfield Street and each business is experiencing its own varying degree of success. This could be related to the J/Z trains that stop on Halsey and Chauncey streets or the growth in young professionals and homeowners.

During the project, I have come to the realization that most of the businesses have been in the community for years, staying in families or simply switching owners without losing its value. Long time Bed-Stuy resident, Sherry and her daughter-in-law, Kerry, think the shopping strip is successful because the businesses have been a part of the neighborhood for very long time and have become staples in the community. This can be an advantage to these businesses as they gain longtime and loyal customers and a steady source of revenue. However, the younger and newer businesses aren’t doing too badly either. KNS Hair Express Corp. has only been open for one year and already it has its own clientele, including Sherry. Washington Mitchell, owner and manager, says this is his third business and the success so far is encouraging.

Ike John, manager of Broadway Pigeons & Pet Supplies, thinks that business in the neighborhood has only just started booming since the 1977 blackout that last for three days and damaged many of the older businesses. The sole pet store stands out on a block packed with delis, laundromats, beauty stores and fast food restaurants. “No one else seems to be interested in the pet business,” said John. The store only sells birds and pigeon feed and some cat litter, but it doesn’t affect business at all, as he said there are many pigeon owners in the neighborhood. “We are keeping our head above water, so I’d say that is successful. Pigeons are an addiction, you can’t just have one and what many people don’t know is that Bushwick, actually Brooklyn, has the most pigeon flyers in the state.”

The sudden flourish can also be a by-product of the booming housing market in the area. On my walk around the neighborhood, there were many “open house”, “for sale” or realtors’ signs on the many brownstones and buildings. Even John is planning on buying his second house in the neighborhood just so he can begin raising pigeons again, supporting both the housing market and the businesses that surround him. While I only saw one closed business on the block, there were many new businesses celebrating their grand opening or proclaiming to be coming soon.

The small family businesses seem to be thriving as well as the big chains that can be found further down on the block. What is surprising is that even without a chamber of commerce or a business association that they are members of, the businesses support each other during community events and many of them even work together. Melena Davidson, owner and director of New Pride Day Care Center says she has been on the block for seven years and the last time she tried creating a carnival for her children, most of the businesses pitched in to help in some form. Williams’ business donates bikes to children at PS 5 and John and Henry, an avid pigeon flyer, exchange their services.