FABnyc part of New Citywide Alliance to Support Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts

Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc), a member ofthe Naturally Occurring Cultural District Working Group (NOCD-NY) joined with cultural and community leaders and elected officials from across the city to launch a citywide alliance to revitalize New York from the neighborhood up. The Rockefeller Foundation recently announced that the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center, on behalf of NOCD-NY, was chosen from nearly 400 applicants as one of the 16 winners of their annual NYC Cultural Innovation Fund competition.

"This award recognizes the vision and the creative resiliency of New York City communities and we are grateful to have the opportunity to extend our alliance across the city" said Project Co-directors Caron Atlas and Tamara Greenfield.

NOCD-NY brings together a unique alliance of artists, activists, creative manufacturers and policymakers around the idea of Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts, recognizing the vital cultural, social and economic contributions of these community-initiated cultural clusters. Working Group members include Arts + Community Change Initiative, Bronx Council on the Arts, El Museo del Barrio, El Puente, Fourth Arts Block, Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center, NY Chinatown History Project, The Point, and the Queens Museum of Art.

To address the lack of policy tools and support mechanisms for this powerful neighborhood-based work, NOCD-NY is strengthening practIce Through capacity building and collaborative programs, raising visibility and articulating the value of NOCDs, carrying out collaborative research, and developing policy recommendations.

Said Rockefeller Foundation Associate Director, Edwin Torres, "We are excited to support the Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts in breaking down silos between cultural activity and other activities that engender community resilience. We've all seen the role that cultural activity can play in an area's economic health. This project highlights the role of cultural expression that is indigenous to an area, highlight the voices of those that have on-the-ground expertise, ensuring that economic growth is culturally equitable. Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts can be a model ripe for replication nationally."

Initiated in 2007, the New York City Cultural Innovation Fund awards two-year grants, ranging from $50,000 to $250,000, for groundbreaking initiatives that enrich the City's cultural life and help to ensure the continued economic strength and diversity of the City's creative sector.

FABnyc was founded in 2001 by local arts and civic organizations to preserve and develop the East 4th Cultural District, a historic and vibrant arts corridor in the Lower East Side. Today, FABnyc leads a growing network of arts organizations and small businesses to lead community building and economic development for the neighborhood, while also preserving its rich heritage and creative energy.