MISSION STATEMENT

We in the 400-500 State Street Brooklyn Block Association work together to make our blocks cleaner, safer, and greener. We build community. We respond effectively to the inevitable problems that pop up in big city life. 

We are not a home owners' association. Renters are encouraged to join!

TEN REASONS TO JOIN THE BLOCK ASSOCIATION

(1) We clean.

We have well-attended group sweep ups. Our advocacy has led to the installation of special garbage receptacles (like a solar power Big Belly can) that prevents trash from overflowing.

(2) We make our community safer.

Our list of block cameras helps quickly pool crime data to share with the Precinct. Meeting regularly with the Precinct ensures we have access to resources when we need them. Our Guide to Preventing Package Theft helps neighbors keep their deliveries safe.

(3) We green.

We plant and maintain trees and tree guards to make our block greener. We participate in the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest and even won a window box prize.

(4) We interface with local development projects.

We interface with local development projects to ensure our community has a seat at the table as our neighborhood undergoes change.

(5) We advocate for better traffic policy.

We conducted a study of how frequently our street sweeping machines managed to successfully sweep and shared it with our local officials.

(6) We give back.

Our coat and shoe drive for the Next Step Community Church collected two dozen coats and a dozen pairs of shoes for our unhoused neighbors. Our donated cameras helped Khalil Gibran International Academy with distance learning during the Pandemic. Our drive for the YWCA collected canned goods and new pillows for our neighbors.

(7) We connect neighbors.

We meet often and publish a monthly email newsletter with information on the community. We collaborate with other local organizations on live events. We throw AWESOME Block parties! We are not a homeowner's association; membership is open to renters!

(8) We talk to our local elected officials. And they listen.

We meet with our elected officials and share block issues. Candidates come out to meet us during election season because we are a block of voters they care about.

(9) Boerum Hill Bonus.

If you join us, you join the Boerum Hill Association for free.

(10) WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER!

We are 100 families and growing!

More About Us

We in the 400-500 State Street Brooklyn Block Association often refer to ourselves as inhabiting a strange border town. We are clearly not the Downtown Brooklyn High-Density District. Yet, because of our immediate proximity to the High-Density District, we have become something other than brownstone Brooklyn. We have the traffic, the trash, the infestations, and the crime of the third largest commercial district in New York City. Yet we lack the resources and the services provided to such commercial centers because our legal status remains that of residential streets dominated by mostly single-family homes and small apartment buildings. Thus, the 400-500 State Street Brooklyn Block Association has become the organized voice of our blocks and the surrounding neighborhood. Together we can make a difference. Join us!