Acceptance from the CB!

CB3 has accepted our block party application. We still have to get approval from CB3 and the city, but things are looking good!

We would like to thank Ms. D. Starkes at CB3 for helping us out and for being so nice to us. We would also like to thank the Tenement Museum for writing us a letter of approval.

Things we have learned from our first block party application:

1. Go to the Community Board first! We downloaded all of our forms instead of going to the office to pick them up; we thought we saved ourselves a trip. However, if you go to the office, they can explain things for you and help you. I (mistakenly) thought that the less I bothered the CB with questions, the more they would like me. But why should anybody like someone they haven’t seen before?
2. On the other hand, email is good because you will have records of everything. If you think you might need a conversation on record, send an email confirmation or ask for a letter printed on the organization’s official letterhead.
3. Flyers & clipboards make you look a little more official.
4. If you have a meeting at the precinct, plan it like a doctor’s visit: you might have to wait for hours.
5. And most important! Don’t wait until 5 days before the deadline to figure out when the deadline is.

What’s up next: We’re looking for some party planning volunteers & some bands. We’re also trying to get in touch with the following organizations: LES Ecology Center, Council on the Environment (CENYC), Bike Works NYC, Asian Americans for Equality Community Center, and NYCares. If you work there or have any contacts, please let us know through the contact page. Thanks!

ready, set…

The petition is done & the application is going to be dropped off at CB3 tomorrow! We met some great people out on the street. The most frequently asked question was, “What kind of block party is it going to be?”

We’re not sure! So far, it’s going to be a “things we happen to like & know about the LES” (musicians, skateboarders, restaurants, the Tenement Museum, & the Ecology center). But we know there’s more to the neighborhood than that! So please email/comment with any ideas you have for the party, especially if you want to be part of the planning/organizing group. It will be cool! Just imagine, you can tell strangers how to have fun!