We can't wait to meet you at The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life,

a new model of community center where we'll spend time connecting with each other,

engaging in Jewish experiences, and enriching our communities and ourselves - together.

WHAT'S THE NEIGHBORHOOD?

Imagine a multiplicity of activities, spaces, and people interacting day and night...

The Neighborhood is embarking upon a new model of community center designed to match the needs and spirit of the Jewish communities in Central/Northern Brooklyn. The Neighborhood will be a platform for making connections across the diverse Jewish communities of Central/Northern Brooklyn. It will be particularly designed to attract the thousands of Jewish Brooklynites and their friends who may not yet have found their Jewish home and are curious about new ways of engaging in Jewish communal life.

The Neighborhood will be a physical gathering place for local organizations that don't have their own space or that need different spaces than what they have. We'll collaborate with Jewish groups and institutions to co-produce offerings. We'll produce programs to fill gaps for underserved demographics and geographies. People will also be able to host their own gatherings or just spend casual time with friends in The Neighborhood.

We envision one larger Center as well as pop-up happenings in neighborhoods across the area. The Center will be a dynamic, multi-purpose facility that can host numerous, simultaneous Jewish activities from the cultural to the spiritual. It'll be a well-designed space that attracts Jews from all walks of life and their friends to come for programs or hang out, particularly appealing to young adults, families with young children, teens, and empty nesters.

WHY NOW?

We're at a moment when we have an opportunity to expand our infrastructure that can serve our community for the next 100 years. Central/Northern Brooklyn hosts one of the country’s fastest-growing Jewish populations.

The Neighborhood will provide a critical Jewish community resource to thousands of Jews of all backgrounds and to fellow travelers. It also promises the opportunity for newcomers to organized Jewish life to discover all of the assets of Central/Northern Jewish Brooklyn!

WHERE EXACTLY?

The Central/Northern area encompasses neighborhoods including Bedford–Stuyvesant, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Bushwick, Carroll Gardens, Clinton Hill, Cobble Hill, Crown Heights, Ditmas Park, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Greenpoint, Greenwood, Kensington, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Red Hook, South Slope, Williamsburg, and Windsor Terrace. We also envision attracting participants from nearby neighborhoods in Manhattan. And, of course, anyone from the rest of Brooklyn and NYC is welcome to join in!

HOW WILL IT CONNECT WITH THE COMMUNITY?

The Neighborhood will be built with insights and input from community members and institutions. It'll tap into the unique spirit and trends of Brooklyn and be guided by local needs, cultures, and sensibilities. The Center is targeted to enhance and complement the existing Jewish infrastructure and grow the overall number of people actively involved in the Jewish Community.

We'll network with a wide range of organizations and institutions in Brooklyn from Reform to Orthodox to non/post/trans-denominational spiritual and religious, from social justice-focused to arts & culture-focused, from informal learning-oriented to social, from local to Israeli to global. The Neighborhood will welcome Jews and those who don't identify as Jewish who have a range of religious observances, political perspectives, and identities.

We're eager to hear what you want to happen in The Neighborhood and how you see yourself contributing to bringing this big vision to life!

WHO'S BEHIND THE NEIGHBORHOOD?

A few years ago, a large, diverse group of Jewish Brooklynites dreamed up a pluralistic, flexible, multi-use Jewish gathering space during a community-wide, open-to-all design thinking process. As a follow-up, UJA Brooklyn commissioned a Jewish space study around program needs and demographics which confirmed the absence of and need for this kind of infrastructure as a complement to what already exists in Central/Northern Brooklyn.

The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life, an independent 501(c)3, is a lay-founded organization that a few community members at-large formed to pursue this dream. We're partnering with UJA-Federation of NY and are excited to work with all existing Jewish organizations, community members, and groups. We're also actively expanding the Advisory Council.

The foundation of The Neighborhood is that it's of and for the community and all of its constituent groups, organizations, institutions, and community members at large. We believe our area needs additional infrastructure to support the inspiring growth and bring us together so we can all flourish to the fullest. We know this once-in-a-generation project will only be successful if many of us come together to collaborate and co-create.

WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?

The Neighborhood is in start-up mode and interested to hear from our community! If you or anyone you know wants to get in touch, please fill out the form on this page.