Category Archives: Community

‘It could start from just three people interested in making a difference,’ says Bushwick Ayuda Mutua’s admin

by ANGELICA TEJADA

Juan Perez joined Bushwick Ayuda Mutua in August after hearing of the organization through social media. Photo provided by Juan Perez.

Juan Perez, 23, is a volunteer coordinator and administrator at Bushwick Ayuda Mutua (BAM), which is a grassroots organization dedicated to helping those in Bushwick impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Perez recently moved to Bushwick but has dedicated his time to BAM and has helped support hundreds of Latinx families in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Below is a Q&A with Perez on his perspective of BAM and the Latinx community in Bushwick. Continue reading …

Gente de Bushwick: Melo’s Block Shop offers educational tools for bilingual toddlers

by ANGELICA TEJADA

Gente de Bushwick: Melo’s Block Shop

Melodi Conze, owner of Melo’s Block Shop, wants to offer services to bilingual children no matter their background. Photo provided from Melodi Conze.

This monthly feature on Soy Bushwick introduces the faces in the Latinx community of Bushwick. 

Who: Melo’s Block Shop is a Bushwick-based online retail store that sells educational posters in both English and Spanish on Amazon. Melodi Conze, founder and owner of Melo’s Block Shop is also an English teacher at a high school in Bushwick.

What: Melo’s Block Shop focuses on offering educational tools for toddlers to learn the alphabet, days of the month and more that can be used both at home and in the classroom. The Bilingual Bear is a cartoon that’s featured on the products and resembles the shop’s mission. Conze combined both her teaching and Afro-Latinx background to create this small business.

Here we speak to Conze, on Melo’s Block Shops background and connection to Latinx culture. Continue reading …

Street mural in Bushwick honors Mexican icons

by ANGELICA TEJADA

Mural on Stanhope Street and Irving Avenue includes various Mexican figures. Photo by Angelica Tejada

Bushwick, which has many artists and creative types among its newer gentrifying residents, is filled with street art. Street art in Bushwick is utilized as a symbolization of social issues and self-expression. On the corner of Stanhope Street and Irving Avenue, the neighborhood’s Latinx residents get their due with a mural that showcases various well-known cultural figures.
Continue reading …

Mil Mundos Books: a space dedicated to the Latinx community in Bushwick

by ANGELICA TEJADA

Mil Mundos Books on 323 Linden St. is open as a community center during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by Angelica Tejada.

When Mil Mundos Books opened in Bushwick in March 2019, founder and co-owner Maria Herron wanted to create not just a bookstore but a place where Latinx New Yorkers could celebrate their culture through cultural events and indulge in activist activities.

But when COVID-19 hit in March of this year, Herron – like many small business owners – had to close and its services went online including its six-week Spanish classes workshop.

Herron converted the bookstore’s location on 323 Linden St. into a community center to help those in need during the pandemic.

“We connected with people on mutual aid efforts, and I really have to give it to them, I still remember seeing the vans,” Herron, 33, said in a phone interview. Continue reading …

4 non-profit organizations in Bushwick that you can support right now

by ANGELICA TEJADA

Non-profit organizations are community-driven and in Bushwick, they support, empower and help the Latinx community. Many of them have been established for decades and need the support to keep offering vital services and programs for the community. Read more to find out how you can give your support. Continue reading …

Gente de Bushwick: The Brujas of Brooklyn utilize their Afro-Latinx heritage to help women heal

by ANGELICA TEJADA

Gente de Bushwick: Brujas of Brooklyn

Dr. Griselda Rodriguez-Solomon (up) and Dr. Miguelina Rodriguez (down) of Brujas of Brooklyn tap into their own experiences to help other women of color. Photo provided by Dr. Miguelina Rodriguez.

This monthly feature on Soy Bushwick introduces the faces in the Latinx community of Bushwick. 

Who: Brujas of Brooklyn is a wellness and spiritual business founded by Afro-Dominican identical twins, Dr. Griselda Rodriguez-Solomon and Dr. Miguelina Rodriguez, that live in Bushwick. Both are also professors of the social sciences at CUNY schools.

What: Brujas of Brooklyn has a focus on womb healing and hosts YONI workshops for women of color to feel safe and open as they begin their journey to healing from past traumas. On their Instagram page, they also advocate and have conversations on gentrification, Afro-Latinx representation, and racism in the Latinx community.

Here we speak to one of the brujas, Dr. Miguelina Rodriguez on Brujas of Brooklyn’s background and connection to Latinx culture. Continue reading …