Medgar Evers grows.....

Thanks for the link whynot.

I think the Medgar Evers is under-appreciated for its role as an institution of higher learning in the neighborhood. Probably a couple of reasons for that:

1) it is south of Eastern Parkway, which has significantly less commercial activity, and therefore, significantly less opportunities for the student body to interact with residents, and

2) it doesn't seem that the college has done must to foster a broader linkage to the neighborhood. It is amazing how, even without a true campus, the institution seems insular.

Local community groups and businesses, should consider ways to get students more involved in the neighborhood. Colleges can be a helpful drivers of economic development in a neighborhood. But not only with economic development, but with cultural development as well, MEC may be able to play a role.

Medgar Evers is an HBCU (historically black college or university - not sure if it is so officially, but de facto it is) and has a large Caribbean student body. They are well positioned to be a driver of cultural programming in the neighborhood.

So hopefully this new building will spark some change!

All that said ... we might just have to post up these reflections on the blog.

NostrandPark wrote: Thanks for the link whynot.

I think the Medgar Evers is under-appreciated for its role as an institution of higher learning in the neighborhood. Probably a couple of reasons for that:

1) it is south of Eastern Parkway, which has significantly less commercial activity, and therefore, significantly less opportunities for the student body to interact with residents, and

2) it doesn't seem that the college has done must to foster a broader linkage to the neighborhood. It is amazing how, even without a true campus, the institution seems insular.

Local community groups and businesses, should consider ways to get students more involved in the neighborhood. Colleges can be a helpful drivers of economic development in a neighborhood. But not only with economic development, but with cultural development as well, MEC may be able to play a role.

Medgar Evers is an HBCU (historically black college or university - not sure if it is so officially, but de facto it is) and has a large Caribbean student body. They are well positioned to be a driver of cultural programming in the neighborhood.

So hopefully this new building will spark some change!

All that said ... we might just have to post up these reflections on the blog.

Actually Nostrand - Megar Evers sends many of its students to the local public schools to act as "mentors and/or assistant teachers" (My son's old public school PS 9 is/was one of the schools). Granted they are all students looking to become teachers but I like that they send them to the neighborhood schools. Also Medgar Evers runs a day care center that works on a sliding scale basis and keeps a large percentage of those seats open for lower income working families.

Just a point of clarification, Medgar is not an HBCU as to hold that designation, the school would have to have been established prior to 1964. It was however created and designed as a part of the CUNY system to bring more students of color into the system. Its had its troubles in the past, but like many CUNY schools is undergoing a resurgence with great administrators and leadership and wonderful students that are achieving, I'd encourage anyone who doesn't know about it to spend some time over there, perhaps during their spring/summer outdoor jazz events.

With respect to the campus effort the science building is almost complete, so I'd expect the bulk of those changes to Crown Street to happen over the course of this school year.

homeowner wrote: I'd encourage anyone who doesn't know about it to spend some time over there, perhaps during their spring/summer outdoor jazz events.

I love their outdoor music events during the spring and summer. I also enjoy some of their speakers and screenings (which don't happen that often).


Many of the issues NostrandPark brings up are very difficult to address with commuter colleges/universities, which almost all CUNYs are (I think the Queens and City might provide more housing than most). Students tend to come to campus for a few hours and leave. CUNY provides very little "on-campus" housing, which makes it difficult for majority of students attending to connect with the surrounding community.

whynot_31 wrote: A campus "strip" is missing. For example, when you go to Brooklyn College, there are a bunch of businesses that obviously cater to the students ....Quiznos, pizza places, the like.

It's a bit of a stretch to say those places obviously cater to students at Brooklyn College, especially considering the college sits in a major commercial area. If anything, those businesses thrive because they sit at the end of the 2/5 where Flatbush and Nostrand meet, which is a major tranfer point for people taking the bus to places where there is no subway service. You can remove Brooklyn College from the area and those places would likely still be there.