596 Acres has been connecting communities with vacant public land resources in Brooklyn since August 2011. In less than a year, three new projects have started on sites that we identified and 24 more communities have initiated their organizing efforts. 

We know this works. With your support, we will be able to bring our tactics to the other four boroughs.

Starting with data recently made available as a result of City legislation, we hope to make accurate maps of vacant publicly owned properties in the other four boroughs. Once the data is ready, we will seek out graphic designers from each borough to customize a print map (22.75" x 30”) for each borough. We will print 1,000 maps of each and distribute them through the network of community-based organizations. Also through those organizations, we will host “Land Use Visioning Sessions” in those communities to discuss with members what they would like to see on public land in their neighborhoods and to provide a primer for organizing for control of the land as well as on contact and context for advocating with city agencies for permission to make community visions a reality. 

In each borough, we will chose 25 sites to label so that local community members have the information they need to improve their own surroundings.

As we have demonstrated in Brooklyn, New Yorkers in their communities are looking for land to work on with their neighbors. Project goals range from growing food to educating youth to providing social space, and all push the boundaries of how well we can live, together.

We have received so many inquiries about data for other boroughs that the answer to that question is on our very short list of “Frequently Asked Questions” on our website. With your help, we can answer those inquiries with data!