It amazes me that there are still cultural spaces in communities throughout New York that I haven’t seen. As the Director of the Community Arts Development Program (CADP), I visit many theaters, dance spaces, music schools, visual arts studios with galleries, and various historic sites. CADP is a program that provides assistance with space renovation, the acquisition of professional arts equipment and the installation of a limited number of large-scale works of art. Each CADP Request for Proposals brings new and exciting projects, programs and venues to our attention.

One of the best ways to feel the pulse of a New York City community and an organization that serves it is by walking through the neighborhood. This is what I do before visiting an applicant-organization. When time allows, I stop for a quick lunch or drop into a local shop to speak with neighborhood residents about the organization I am visiting. If the group is not recognized, I suspect that some important links may be missing. CADP makes awards to organizations that play an important role in neighborhood stabilization and resurgence, and with few exceptions, must primarily serve the neighborhood residents. So, it is important for the community to have ties to the organization. The following organizations have been successful at establishing such ties.

Almost everyone in the Belmont area of the Bronx knows of the Belmont Italian American Playhouse (BIAP) located at 2385 Arthur Avenue. The Playhouse is a former bakery building where the original metal floor plates that held the ovens in place are still visible. The Modern Food Center is on the ground floor but a doorway on the second floor leads to BIAP’s jewel of a black box theater where a sound system provided by CADP is put to use. Another door opens onto a large, multi-purpose space for workshops, performances and rehearsals. Founded in 1991 by Marco Greco and Dante Albertie, BIAP presents classical and contemporary Italian-American theatre and produces new works by playwrights of all ethnic backgrounds. BIAP also coordinates Ferragosto, a mid-August community feast started more than 2000 years ago by Roman peasants which was resurrected on Arthur Avenue in 1997. I took the D Train and a bus to get to Arthur Avenue. The Metrocard provided a free transfer which is a savings arts organizations should promote if located in two-fare zones.

One cannot write about spaces in the Bronx without singing the praises of The Point at 940 Garrison Avenue. The organization converted the annex of the old American Bank Note Building into a mini-mall and cultural center. They later purchased the facility. Congratulations to Executive Director Paul Lipson and his wonderful staff. The Point is probably the only place you can get a haircut, buy a book or a hand-carved sculpture, take a lesson in Flamenco dance and dine Latino style before attending a performance in Live From the Edge, its 200 seat theater for which CADP matched funding for a sprung floor. The Point is just a short walk from the Hunts Point Station of the #6 train.

Even though it doesn’t have a theater, it’s also important to mention the Bronx River Art Center (BRAC), located at 1087 East Tremont Avenue. What BRAC does have is a spacious gallery on the first floor, artist studios on another floor, and a top floor with a host of after-school workshops in drawing, painting, ceramics, printmaking, and photography. The East Tremont Station, where you can catch the #2 or #5 trains, is only a block away. CADP has conducted a number of improvement projects in the gallery and on the upper floors. Gail Nathan, BRAC’s fairly new executive director, is an artist as well as an arts administrator. She designed one of the first CADP large-scale works of art.

Brooklyn, the borough with the largest population, is also the home of The Gallery Players which was established in 1969. The organization envisioned a 99 seat theater in the basement of the Park Slope Neighborhood Family Center at 199 14^th Street between 4^th and 5^th Avenues. Instead, they created a spacious theater where fully staged musicals and other repertory projects are presented. The organization is composed of volunteers who labor for the love of theater, and are willing to run everything. Acknowledgements should go to the board members who also serve as the organization’s primary volunteers. Their efforts inspired CADP to match funding for a new stage as well as lighting and sound equipment. You can take the R or F train to Gallery Players. Plenty of street parking is also available.

The Brooklyn Music School, located at 126 St. Felix Street, provides some of the best music lessons in town. While that may be more than enough for most music schools to manage, this school also runs the 266 seat Playhouse located in the basement of the facility. CADP has completed many improvement projects in this facility as well. Their Spanish Mission-style theater is used for the school’s events. Executive Director Bruce Cunningham encourages more groups to rent the theatre which is available at affordable rates. Most trains, including the LIRR, stop in this Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street area.

It was not easy to find a sword swallower, fire eater, bearded lady and a snake charmer in Coney Island after the mid 1960s. So Coney Island USA brought them back in the 1980's when Dick Zigun, a "Yalie," and others founded the organization. Now located at 1208 Surf Avenue, the organization has its own company in residence, Sideshows by the Seashore, and runs the internationally known Mermaid Parade. The facility houses a 74-seat theater and museum, and a cabaret space. Weekend rock concerts and other programs are planned to appeal to the neighborhood’s teenagers. There are many trains that will take you to Coney Island. Check any train map for information.

The Afrikan Poetry Theatre is located at 176-03 Jamaica Avenue in Queens. The organization features a popular series of jazz concerts in its multi-service space that becomes a concert and lecture hall, a theater for open poetry readings, short plays, movies, and a workshop space for studies in African culture. The facility also houses a library and gallery on the second floor. John Watusi Branch, the organization’s executive director, appreciates the CADP improvements made to the facility and the sound equipment purchased to enhance the various programs. Afrikan Poetry Theatre is a short walk from the 179^th Street stop on the F train.

As many of us are aware, the borough of Manhattan has a theater in almost every neighborhood. Some blocks are even known for their string of theaters and other cultural spaces. There are theaters in office buildings, warehouses, churches, storefronts and even garages. A good example of an organization thinking creatively about their use of space is the Harlem Theatre Company. The Company took a former garage and turned it into the almost brand new 75 seat house located on the ground floor at 473 West 150^th Street between Convent and Amsterdam Avenues. The theatre is very close to a major subway stop on 147^th Street. Founder/Director James Pringle makes this community space available at reasonable rates to several theater companies and other community arts organizations. While the Harlem Theatre Company does present its own showcase productions, its main focus is an affordable training program for teenagers and young adults pursuing professional acting careers.

CADP grants may assist a limited number of historic preservation projects. In this category, there is a gem found almost at the end of Staten Island. The Sandy Ground Historical Society, formed in 1979, was developed to preserve the history and physical surroundings of the Sandy Ground Community established in the early 1800's by newly freed slaves. The freedmen were farmers and oyster fishermen who cultivated the land and waters of their new home, which was also a station of the Underground Railroad. The finest strawberries were grown in the sandy soil and oyster beds were seeded and harvested. The oyster industry had become this community’s economic base and Sandy Ground was the center of economic and social life of African Americans living on the Eastern seaboard.

The Society, which has conducted historical research through records, collections and interviews with descendants of the freedmen, also possesses the largest documentary collection of Staten Island African American history and culture. That culture and history is presented to school children and the general public through music and art programs and lectures held in its library/museum building and in schools and community centers. A number of outdoor festivals are presented on the grounds surrounding the museum building. CADP purchased a number of tables and chairs needed for these events. The Society’s President Julie Moody Lewis advises patrons to take the S 74 bus which connects with the Staten Island Ferry. If asked, she says, the bus driver will let you off at the Society. I drove to the site and exited the highway at Bloomingdale Road. The Society, located at 1538 Woodrow Road, is a short distance from this exit.

Although it is impossible to highlight every community arts organization in the city, much applause goes out to all arts organizations contributing greatly to the vitality of the city’s neighborhoods. Congratulations!

Marie Artesi is the Director of the Community Arts Development Program at the Department of Cultural Affairs.

The Community Arts Development Program (CADP) issues its Guidelines and Applications biannually. CADP regrants Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds provided by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). For additional information, contact the DCA.

Bronx
Belmont Italian American Playhouse (718) 364-4348
Bronx River Art Center (718) 589-5819
The Point (718) 542-4139

Brooklyn
The Brooklyn Music School (718) 638-5660
Coney Island USA (718) 372-5159
Gallery Players (718) 595-0547

Queens
Afrikan Poetry Theatre (718) 523-3312

Manhattan
Harlem Theatre Company (212) 281-0130

Staten Island
Sandy Ground Historical Society (718) 317-5796

The information contained in the above article is current as of its December 1999 publication date. Please be advised that this information may be out of date.