$230,000 Awarded To Community Non-profits In Harlem, Washington Heights, The Bronx & Brooklyn Through Citi Bike’s 2020 Grants Program
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, July 15th, 2020 - Citi Bike’s Equity & Community Engagement Team is proud to announce the recipients of the 2020 Community Grants Program. Through the Program, now in its second year, $230,000 in grant funding will be awarded to non-profit organizations in Harlem, Washington Heights, The Bronx & Brooklyn to support community-led efforts to expand access to bikeshare and increase transportation equity
Building upon years of community engagement initiatives, Citi Bike launched a new Community Grant Program through its sponsorship with Healthfirst in 2020. The overarching goal of the Community Grant Program is to address health and transportation inequities. The Program seeks to achieve this goal through programs and activities that increase access to bikeshare in low-income neighborhoods and underrepresented communities throughout New York City.
The Program aims to grow enrollment in the Reduced Fare Bike Share Program, presented by Healthfirst, engage people of all ages in developing a life-long relationship with bikeshare, improve health outcomes in traditionally marginalized communities through cycling, and leveraging bikeshare as a tool to champion equitable access to safer streets and green space in urban areas.
Congratulations to the 2020 Community Grant Program recipients:
The Black Feminist Project (South Bronx): The Black Feminist Project (TBFP) seeks to create economic development opportunities that address food justice, environmental justice and public and mental health. TBFP will promote transportation equity, environmental and food justice in S. Bronx through Citi Bike rides to weekly mobile markets and urban farms as well as advocacy on bike safety issues that impact riders of color in the Bronx.
I Challenge Myself (Washington Heights): I Challenge Myself focuses on the health of public high school students in Washington Heights. This grant will be used to expand ICM’s current cycling program to include high school students and their parents to build a sense of community using Citi Bike.
Word of Life International (The Bronx): Word of Life supports impoverished and low income residents in the South Bronx with services and programs to end hunger. Word of Life will use this grant to create a network of 10 churches to spread awareness/promote ridership around Citi Bike’s Reduced Fare Bike Share program and continue their work with other partners such as Transportation Alternatives & Bronx Health Reach to advocate for safe streets for cyclists and pedestrians in the South Bronx.
Bronx River Alliance (The Bronx): The Bronx River Alliance was formed as a coordinated voice to protect, improve, and restore the Bronx River corridor. This grant will support their advocacy for the integration of the Bronx River Greenway into the rest of New York City’s bike network, including more bike lanes and cycling infrastructure for safer streets in the South Bronx.
The Marcy Lab School (Brooklyn): The Marcy Lab School is reimagining higher education and workforce development with one clear and critical mission: to create an alternative pathway to high-growth technology careers for young adults from underestimated backgrounds. Recognizing that access to transportation is the biggest indicator of social mobility, The Marcy Lab School will provide their fellows from underserved communities with Citi Bike memberships and training to learn to ride safety to ensure that they can get to their training for software engineering jobs in the tech industry.
Odyssey House (The Bronx): Odyssey House (OH) provides comprehensive and innovative services to New York’s population who abuse drugs, abuse alcohol, and suffer from mental illness. This grant will help Odyssey House promote the benefits of biking in Citi Bike and daily exercise to address mental health and substance abuse.
Rescuing Leftover Cuisine (The Bronx):The mission of RLC is to rescue food that would otherwise be wasted to feed the hungry through the use of technology. Rescuing Leftover Cuisine will use their grant to expand their current Food Rescue Operations by providing Citi Bike bicycles to 40 new volunteers in The Bronx and Queens, rescuing food that can be turned into meals for families facing food insecurity.
Red Hook Initiative (Brooklyn): Red Hook Initiative (RHI) fosters local youth leadership and community development. Through this grant, RHI will hire a youth organizer to promote Reduced Fare Bike Share, host instructional cycling events that reach at least 250 Red Hook residents.
Boys & Girls Club of Harlem (Harlem): Boys & Girls Club of Harlem (BGCHarlem) provides access and opportunities for youth to reach their full potential as responsible members of the community. The BGCHarlem Teen Biking Awareness & Empowerment ten-week program will engage 45 youth using Citi Bike to maintain physical and mental fitness as well as personal and community empowerment.
Transportation Alternatives (The Bronx): Transportation Alternatives' (TA) mission is to reclaim New York City's streets from the automobile and advocate for better bicycling, walking, and public transit for all New Yorkers. Through this grant, TA will engage the community in tailored Citi Bike rides for different audiences including families and novice riders and work with them to become advocates for safe cycling infrastructure in the Bronx.
Urban Upbound (Harlem): Urban Upbound is dedicated to breaking cycles of poverty in New York City public housing neighborhoods. Through this grant, Urban Upbound will provide bikeshare to promote financial literacy and economic mobility through their Jobs Plus programs targeting the Jefferson, Clinton, and Johnson Houses NYCHA developments.
El Puente (Brooklyn): El Puente promotes leadership for peace and justice through youth engagement. El Puente will use Citi Bike to set up a delivery service for members and their families who are in dire need of food and other resources. El Puente will also engage youth in using Citi Bike to conduct a long term environmental impact study to gather data on the urgent environmental and health inequities in the Southside of Williamsburg that have put communities of color at risk through an initiative called Nuestro Aire.
Third Avenue Business Improvement District Collaboration (The Bronx): Third Ave BID is helping drive the systemic change needed to support equitable economic development in the Bronx. The grant will fund building a community around bike safety in the South Bronx through Citi Bike and using bike tours to change the perception of South Bronx neighborhoods.
As Citi Bike continues to expand its service area, community collaboration and expertise remain critical to the program’s success. Learn more about all of Citi Bike’s community programs here.