In June 2024, Howard Brandstein and Sixth Street received a prestigious Village Award from Village Preservation:
Why are the East Village and Lower East Side among our most sought after neighborhoods in which to live today? In the 1970s and 1980s, the dynamic was very different. These neighborhoods were wracked by abandonment and arson, and lacked support for its residents. Thanks to organizations like the Sixth Street Community Center, and activists like its executive director, Howard Brandstein, the beauty, character, and persistent community strength of these neighborhoods have been nurtured and preserved.
Founded in 1978 by a group of dedicated neighborhood residents, the Sixth Street Community Center remains a critical hub for mutual aid and environmental advocacy. If you were to walk through its doors on a given day, you might find a busy group of chefs preparing hot meals for families in need, or a group of teenagers learning about farming and climate justice. Brandstein and his team are especially focused on combating environmental racism, which rears its ugly head in the form of unsafe and unsustainable housing for communities of color, or limited access to fresh, healthy foods.
Their community-supported agriculture program, one of the very first in New York City, has given low-income community members access to fresh produce through their partnership with Hepworth Farms in the Hudson Valley. And they haven’t stopped there — much of the Community Center’s past and present educational programs include free classes on cooking and horticulture. These programs give residents the knowledge and tools to grow their own food in local community gardens and prepare it in their own kitchens.
Since 1992, Howard Brandstein has served as the Community Center’s executive director. A homesteader since 1978, he helped reclaim 17 abandoned buildings, including his own current residence, transforming them into safe, legal residences where his neighbors could thrive. His work was instrumental in organizing the first community land trust in New York City in the 1980s.
The Community Center has made its home in a former synagogue at 638 East 6th Street. In the 1980s the site was abandoned and deteriorating, but local residents appreciated its unique architecture, as well as its potential as a community space when such spaces were scarce. The building was beautifully preserved and revitalized by homesteaders and members of the local block association, including Brandstein. In 1984, the block association purchased 638 East 6th Street, and it became the permanent home of the Sixth Street Community Center. Today the Community Center, in addition to its own programs, provides space to local residents and organizations at affordable rates. This has allowed them to collaborate with many organizations that share their mission.
Today, Brandstein and his team at Sixth Street Community Center are working to develop a new Community Land Trust (CLT), in partnership with This Land is Ours Community Land Trust and the Cooper Square Committee. The CLT will consist of up to 65 low-income housing units built on two under-utilized NYCHA parking lots at 640-648 East 6th Street. The proposed housing would be community-governed, with NYCHA residents serving on the board of the new Community Land Trust. Families who are currently on the waiting list for NYCHA housing would be given priority consideration. Community Board 3 unanimously approved the CLT as of February 2024.
Howard’s efforts on creating a Community Land Trust on the properties adjacent to Sixth Street.