Thank you to our supporters and contributors!

From the whole HSC team, thank you to every individual and organization
who made a contribution in response to our 2008 Year-End Appeal. Your
continued support and enthusiasm for Hester Street Collaborative's work is
crucial to our success: we simply could not do it without you. Our 2009
programming is already actively underway, and we look forward to putting
your generous donations to excellent use in the coming year. Thank you
again for your commitment to design activism and the work of Hester
Street!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this newsletter:

HSC Celebrates the Lunar New Year

HSC and Leroy Street Studio team up to "Make a Difference in Two Days"

People Make Parks holds Advisory Panel's Inaugural Meeting

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HSC CELEBRATES THE LUNAR NEW YEAR!

On Thursday, January 29th, Hester Street Collaborative (in partnership
with Middle School 131, the Chinatown YMCA, and Asian Americans for
Equality) will unveil its second annual Lunar New Year Lantern Installation in
Sara D. Roosevelt Park to celebrate the Year of the Ox. The lanterns will
hang in the park through the month of February to be enjoyed by
neighborhood residents and visitors alike.

Last year's lanterns (for the Year of the Rat) were constructed by students at
M.S. 131 and the Chinatown YMCA out of colorful vinyl sheets.This year, the student-made lanterns strung in trees along the public walkways of
SDR Park will be constructed out of recycled plastic bags, creating a
public installation that celebrates the new year and promotes sustainability.

Beginning at 6 pm, HSC will host design activities for children in our
workshop: children of all ages (and their families) are invited to join us!
At 7 pm, HSC and Leroy Street Studio will host a joint Lunar New Year
Celebration at their offices at 113 Hester Street, between Forsyth&
Eldridge. Please join us for cocktails, hors d'ouevres, and live entertainment!
For more details, see the complete invitation on our homepage, or contact
Jess (jess@hesterstreet.org) with any additional questions.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HSC AND LEROY STREET STUDIO TEAM UP TO

"MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN TWO DAYS"

On the weekend of November 15th & 16th of 2008, the staff of Hester Street
Collaborative teamed up with architects from Leroy Street Studio and a group
of dedicated volunteers to participate in "Make A Difference in Two Days," a
48-hour design challenge co-sponsored by Design Corps and Urban Omnibus
(a project of the Architectural League of New York). Beginning Friday night at
6 pm, the team had 48 hours to design and build a project as members of
their specific community, using participatory methods and responding to
community needs.

Through brainstorming and on-the-street conversations with neighborhood residents, the team identified a need for improved accessibility at the P.S. 134 community garden and outdoor classroom, located on East Broadway on the Lower East Side. School staff and garden volunteers had long lamented the fact that the only garden entrance was located on the gated grounds of P.S. 134, discouraging neighborhood access and participation on community volunteer days. In response to this need, the HSC/Leroy Street team designed, built, and installed a public gate for the P.S. 134 community garden and outdoor classroom that provides better public access to this dynamic space. Constructed entirely out of re-claimed material, the gate provides glimpses of the garden and mosaic stepping-stone pathway just inside, inviting community members to approach the garden rather than just walking right by the formerly solid chain-link fence.

The HSC/LSS team presented the public gate project at a forum for all the
participating teams on Monday, November 17th. Bryan Bell, the founder of
Design Corps and author of Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism,
facilitated the evening of presentations, saying, "Wouldn't it be great if
many projects like this covered the city? Residents might actually say one
day: 'there go those designers, helping people out again.' " HSC and Leroy
Street are looking forward to creating future design interventions that
improve neighborhoods in low-impact, highly effective ways.                                                                   

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PEOPLE MAKE PARKS HOLDS ADVISORY PANEL'S INAUGURAL MEETING

People Make Parks Holds Advisory Panel's Inaugural Meeting
In October 2008, Hester Street Collaborative and Partnerships for Parks
launched city-wide effort to help communities participate in the design of
their parks: the People Make Parks Initiative. On Tuesday, December 16th,
the People Make Parks Advisory Panel met for the first time. This group of
professional designers, architects, planners, government officials, nonprofit
leaders, and community advocates will use their broad ranging expertise to
oversee and ensure the success of the initiative.

The Advisory Panel's first meeting was incredibly successful, producing an
initial list of plans for effective informational, input-gathering, and hands-on
tools for the People Make Parks Toolkit.

Panel members discussed long-term plans and hopes for the impacts of the
initiative, emphasizing the spirit of collaboration between community
members and capital designers that must be fostered through every step of
the process. The Advisory Panel has prioritized usability, accessibility, and
confidence in the community input process throughout every step of the
Initiative's development. Creating trust in the process to effectively convey
community input on to the Parks Department and capital designers will allow
the Toolkit and the overall Initiative to have the greatest tangible impact on
parks and the communities who use them.

The People Make Parks Initiative will strive to bring communities and the
NYC Department of Parks & Recreation together to create a true culture of
collaboration around capital parks projects with tools, resources, case
studies, and best practices, and the Advisory Panel will oversee the creation,
promotion, and dissemination of these resources, the People Make Parks
Toolkit. HSC anticipates this group's collaborative leadership and oversight
becoming a driving force for the Initiative's success in the coming year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------