Freeport, NY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Public art installations

Description: This project set out to enhance a public space in Freeport, giving residents of all ages an appealing place to gather. Organizers worked to identify a space to install a mural, painted by a local artist.

Bronx, NY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: The Morris Community Garden had suffered years of neglect, and the abandoned site was overrun with rats. To breathe new live into the space, BronxWorks restored the garden, located near a senior center and three schools. They renamed the space Bean Morris Garden to memorialize a young man from the neighborhood. To welcome people of all ages and abilities, the nonprofit added accessible seating to the space, along with raised garden beds. Since the renovation, residents of all ages have volunteered to tend to the plots. Organizers say the amenity offers an important outdoor gathering space for the community.