The Hot Seat: Rasmia Kirmani-Frye

Welcome to the Hot Seat, where we interview folks involved in Brooklyn real estate, architecture, development and the like. Introducing Rasmia Kirmani-Frye, the Director of the Brownsville Partnership. The Brownsville Partnership is a part of Community Solutions, a national not-for-profit organization whose mission is to strengthen communities to end homelessness.
Brownstoner: What neighborhood do you live in, and how did you end up there?
Rasmia Kirmani-Frye: I live in Fort Greene. I’ve lived in Brooklyn for about 20 years, and have lived all over. I started in Windsor Terrace, and then Sunset Park, Fort Greene, Crown Heights, and back to Fort Greene. I ended up in Fort Greene the first time when I came back from my PhD fieldwork on the West Coast and needed a roommate and somewhere to live – I totally lucked out on both! When my husband and I got married we needed to find a place and ended up two blocks away from where I was living the first time in Fort Greene – we love it. And I should add, my husband grew up in Bed-Stuy, on Putnam and Throop.

BS: Can you talk about the beginnings of the Brownsville Partnership, and how you became involved?
RKF: The Brownsville Partnership – an initiative of Community Solutions, a New York-based national not for profit – was launched in 2008 by Rosanne Haggerty. She and a team started working in Brownsville in 2005 doing community organizing. Rosanne met Brownsville’s unofficial “mayor” Greg “Jocko” Jackson – lifelong resident and agent of hope in Brownsville – and the Brownsville Partnership was born with Greg as the founding director. He passed away last May, but it’s his legacy of hope-in-action that we are carrying out [that] lives on. Prior to working at the BP, I was a community organizer in Brooklyn, and then consulted with community-based organizations in Brooklyn for the past 15 years. I became involved in January 2008. My long-time mentor, and founding president of the Times Square BID, Gretchen Dykstra, was working with Rosanne to conceptualize the work in Brownsville and, knowing that I have a long term love of Brownsville, she suggested I talk to Rosanne. I did and I met Greg, and I was totally inspired by both of them, and that was it. Love.

After the jump, how rapid gentrification in Brooklyn is changing Brownsville, hopes for the community in ten years, and Ras’s favorite spot in the neighborhood…
BS: Much of Brooklyn is going through rapid gentrification and change. But there are still neighborhoods, like Brownsville, that are struggling and can be overlooked. Do you think that creates a tension in Brooklyn? Do you think these changes serve as a benefit or hindrance to neighborhoods like Brownsville, or East New York?
RKF: I think the million dollar question revolves around creating opportunity and embarking on revitalization that leads to better networks and more connectivity, better and more affordable housing options and mixes, more efficient services and creative physical changes that residents want without displacing anyone. And THAT is what our work in Brownsville, with the Brownsville community, is about. Brownsville has incredible assets and strong capabilities – land, families, community leaders, ideas, entrepreneurs, culture, a non-transient community that is extremely loyal – but it has been neglected and overlooked for a long time. And yes, it does create a tension in Brooklyn, but it also creates opportunity. Change and investment in other Brooklyn neighborhoods can do two things: It can leave Brownsville further behind, or it can activate Brownsville to say… “Hey! We want that! We are entitled to that!” Why does Park Slope have bike lanes, but Brownsville doesn’t? Well, Brownsville is getting bike lanes this year because resident bike riders want it and applied for it, and worked with government to make it happen – convened by the Brownsville Partnership. That is the beginning, just the beginning.

BS: The Brownsville Partnership works very closely with the community itself. How do you translate these grassroots efforts to action within the city government?
RKF: We’ve included city government in the dialogue from the start – and in many ways, city government has had a presence in Brownsville from the beginning; they are, in fact, a part of the grassroots efforts. We believe that systems need to change to solve problems – and that when you change the systems, it is better both for the system and the community! There is a lot of money being invested in Brownsville right now by city government, but the return on that investment is the status quo. What if city government invested in the capabilities and opportunities in Brownsville – and I am thrilled to say that there ARE those investments happening. What if city government could save money by investing in Brownsville’s differently? That is how we translate those grassroots efforts, and city government is responsive to that and they are active partners in our work.

BS: What are your hopes for Brownsville in the next 10 years?
RKF: My hopes for Brownsville are the same as the community’s hopes – that Brownsville is safe, prosperous and healthy. And these are not hopes floating in the ether – these are hopes grounded in action. In ten years Brownsville will be known as a destination for the arts; a place with a mix of incomes and housing opportunities and where nobody is displaced; a place where children, families and seniors are safe to explore and thrive; unemployment rates plummet as more people enter the workforce; a place of celebration and activity where everyone is connected.

BS: Finally, your favorites: Favorite Brooklyn neighborhood, favorite spot in Brownsville, and the most meaningful project and work you’ve done with the partnership.
RKF: Favorite Brooklyn neighborhood: Brownsville and Fort Greene.
Favorite spot in Brownsville: The trail through Brownsville Houses marked with way-finding signage that has photos of Brownsville residents talking about what they are doing to stay healthy. Also – the old police precinct on East New York Avenue – what a cool building.
Most meaningful work with the BP: 1. Working with families to prevent more than 600 evictions from public housing in the last five years. 2. The Hope Summit work – an event in February 2013 that brought together 250 Brownsville residents and other stakeholders to kick off a year-long community planning process whereby residents will influence and participate in the changes they want to see in Brownsville. 3. The deep relationships with residents and partners committed to transformation – beginning with Greg Jackson.