Last fall, the Murphy Institute launched a B.A. in Urban and Community Studies. The program focuses on public policy, the delivery of services, and improving the quality of life for communities and working-class populations. Students in the program use methods and perspectives from sociology, economics, political science, history, and anthropology to analyze the conditions of cities, neighborhoods, and communities within a globalizing economy and culture. Our students have opportunities for experiential and applied learning, including fieldwork and workplace-based projects in New York City — our classroom.
Etinosa Emokpae is one of our students and had a chance this summer to intern at a community-based organization in Harlem that engages residents to address environmental justice/public health issues and find solutions. In this piece, she shares some of her impressions.
I’d like to recount my amazing experience in the Urban Studies Fieldwork seminar, which was co-taught by Professors James Steele and Eve Baron. The seminar allows students to intern at a public agency or community organization that fits their interests.
My internship was with WE ACT for Environmental Justice, a North Harlem community-based organization whose mission is to advocate for an environmentally sound quality of life for low income and/or minority neighborhoods in Upper Harlem. Specifically, the organization empowers community members to participate meaningfully in the creation of healthy and sustainable environments. Areas of focus for WE ACT include climate change, clean air, access to open spaces, access to food and equitable access to transportation.
I was specifically involved with the From Trash to Treasure Campaign. It involves the community-led re-use of the 135th Street Garbage Marine Transfer Station (MTS) in Central Harlem. The 135th MTS was the only 24-hour operational garbage transfer station in Manhattan. Due to round-the-clock operations, the community suffered from dangerous levels of air and noise pollution, as well as noxious odors that plagued the area. WE ACT and other community partners waged the successful “Fair Share not Lion’s Share” campaign that stopped the proposed MTS expansion and led to its eventual closure.
Now, WE ACT, in partnership with Community Board 9 and other community groups, is working to create a community-led redevelopment plan for the MTS site. WE ACT created an accessibility survey that contains questions about how the community accesses the site as well as safety concerns. All of the data from the surveys will be compiled and used to propose a community-developed plan for the site.
My job was to engage the community by handing out surveys and coaching respondents through the process. My partner Marcia and I went around the surrounding neighborhood of the MTS and talked to people about the surveys and WE ACT’s work. Many people in the community with whom I had conversations didn’t know anything about the MTS redevelopment plan. Even though they didn’t all complete the survey, I truly believe that the act of putting the message out in the community is a step in the right direction.
One of the hardest lessons I learned was that community outreach is truly an uphill battle. For example, my partner and I dropped off surveys at different businesses and schools in the area. However, we found that, when we returned to those places, the surveys had been lost or only partially completed. It was frustrating to be constantly rejected by many members of the community.
Organizing takes a lot of time and patience. One main organizing difficulty in this campaign was that we didn’t have enough time to build strong ties to the community. This step is critical in running a successful community-driven campaign.
Through this experience, I learned the value of building trust with existing neighborhood groups. I am currently working on contacting community leaders in order to set up a meeting with community members to discuss the From Trash to Treasure Campaign and to provide a survey demonstration. This is something I would like to remain actively engaged in because the 135th Street MTS and its future is concretely linked to the future of the community surrounding it. It’s important that community members have a say regarding what that future is going to look like and whose interest it will serve.
Etinosa Emokpae is in her third semester as a B.A. candidate in the Urban and Community Studies Program, and is a resident of Harlem.
