Mission Statement Is Out There:
‘Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women’
By Linda Collins
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
BOERUM HILL — “Over the next couple of years the YWCA of Brooklyn will transform significantly,” said Barbara Turk, executive director of Brooklyn’s only YWCA, at Atlantic and Third Avenues in Boerum Hill.
That transformation will be both within and without, and will include adding a new entrance at street level, new housing for low-income women and more community meeting space as well as the renovation and repair of the entire circa-1928 building.
“We want to create more of a presence on Atlantic Avenue,” said Turk of the new entrance. “And we want to be part of our downtown’s revitalization.”
The new look that will create that presence on Atlantic was released this week in a rendering by architect Louise Braverman, based in Manhattan. It shows the brand new two-story corner entrance at Third and Atlantic — to be made of glass, brightly colored in YWCA orange, well-lit and welcoming to passersby. It replaces the old solid — and unwelcoming — wall that is there now.
Both Turk and Braverman say it is a multi-faceted new look because it also reflects the Y’s mission and programs. The glass wall reveals the busy lobby inside. The ramp for handicap access suggests that the Y embraces people of all abilities. Large lettering on both the Atlantic and Third Avenue sides clearly states the mission, “Eliminating racism, Empowering women.” An LED moving text display announces Y activities and events. And the first-floor windows have images, silhouettes, on the glass depicting the various activities and programs.
“If you walk past on Atlantic and look at that building now, you have no idea what’s inside,” said Braverman. “But with the new entrance, lettering and window silhouettes, you’ll not only know what’s there, you’ll know precisely what is going on.”
“The goal was to create what I call an urbanistic relationship between the organization and the community it serves,” she added. And not just for pedestrians. All of this will be easily seen by those passing by in their automobiles, too.
Braverman is pleased with the new entrance/lobby for another reason.
“The first thing you learn when you come here is that this is a housing complex and this is also a community space, so immediately there are security issues. One entrance consolidates the two and removes security as an issue,” she explained.
New Program Areas
Braverman is also designing the renovation of the first two floors on the inside of the building, where there are currently large open lobbies, wide hallways and unused areas.
“We have a lot of space that is frankly wasted,” said Turk. “She [Braverman] is reducing some spaces, changing layouts and adding things like moveable walls, and creating new floor plans — because we’re designing not just for today but for the next 50 years.”
Braverman has been working with members of the program staff to determine their needs — which have determined the new layouts. Thus, plans for the ground floor include the following:
• Young Women’s Leadership Academy for girls ages 12-16, with new meeting rooms that can accommodate 17-20 (but with moveable walls, up to 40), plus office space and a computer room/lounge.
• Community facility, a new large meeting space for use by various community groups that can accommodate up to 117 people.
• Memorial Hall, an existing 280-seat theater space which can be rented;.
• Pantry, a new kitchen space for special events and for the new cafe planned for the second floor.
Plans for the second floor include the following:
• Cafe, a healthy food bar that will be open to the public.
• Executive offices, board room and lounge.
• Women’s Health Program, with new office and classroom space for the YWCA’s health-related programs, which include a breast cancer support group, free and low-cost mammograms, health education classes, a fitness program and stop smoking classes.
There is a need for privacy for these programs, according to Turk, and the balconies of the theater (“they were never used anyway”) will be removed to create the new program space that may also accommodate a small exercise gym.
New Housing
The YWCA of Brooklyn is currently home to more than 200 women paying rent in SRO (single room occupancy) rooms on floors 7-11, according to Turk.
“It’s one of our best-kept secrets that we have 214 women living here,” she told the Brooklyn Eagle on a recent tour of the 11-story, circa-1928 building. “Some are students, some are working women, some are retirees and the age range is 18-95.”
These floors will be refurbished with sprinklering, window replacements and other improvements.
The new housing will be on floors 3-6 where 84 studio apartments (21 per floor) will be built.
The firm, Murno and Veneziale Architects LLP, also based in Manhattan, is designing these units which will range from 250-300 square feet, will include a kitchen and bath and will be handicap accessible — built to standards set by Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). These new units will be for low-income women.
Floors 3-6 will be completely gutted to accommodate the studio apartments, which means the pool, closed last year, will be demolished, along with the fitness center (the exercise equipment is long gone) and a large day care center, which will relocate to new quarters elsewhere in the neighborhood.
“We’re basically adding 50 percent more housing that is badly needed. And That’s a pretty exciting thing,” said Turk.
Funding
The $12 million project involves public and private financing, according to Turk.
The HPD and HDC (New York City Housing Development Corp. have authorized two low-income funding initiatives and tax credits (“they like this adaptive re-use of older buildings”) on the public side.
On the private side, funding has also come from The Enterprise Foundation, a private organization that exists to provide affordable housing.
The foundation provided a $600,000 pre-development loan which covered all the design work, as well as engineering studies and initial project development, according to Turk, who said the next major event for the YWCA will be the closing on the foundation’s construction loan.
“That’s coming up in December,” Turk said. “Work could then begin in January.”
Turk’s enthusiasm about the project is obvious and catching. Thus, even though she is the outgoing executive director (a new executive director has just been hired to replace her), she has asked to remain on board as a consultant to see it through, even as she pursues a new career for herself in the ministry.
Turk and the YWCA are anticipating that completion will take 18 months.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2006
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