Overview
Launched in 2021, the Brownsville Hub Cooperative develops community-led solutions to spark economic growth in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The Brownsville Hub Cooperative uses a people-centered, equity-based approach to create a self-sufficient community that builds individual and community wealth through education, ownership, business, and workforce development.
The Challenge
With the second highest incarceration rate in New York City, Brownsville is home to some of the highest prison admissions in Brooklyn. In addition, more than one-quarter of adults have not completed high school, and only 21% of residents aged 25 years and older have earned a bachelor’s degree.
40%
OF BROWNSVILLE RESIDENTS LIVE IN POVERTY
26%
of Young Adults in Brownsville are out of school or out of work
25%
of Brownsville Adults have not completed high school
21%
of Brownsville residents have earned a Bachelor's Degree or higher
Approach
JobsFirstNYC — in partnership with the Brownsville Justice Center, Made in Brownsville, Central Brooklyn Economic Development Corporations, and Community Board 16 and a diverse group of Brownsville stakeholders–developed the Brownsville Hub Cooperative to:
- Define economic mobility
- Determine existing barriers to mobility
- Identify possible solutions
This initiative uses intensive, deep community engagement to discover place-based solutions to economic mobility. The Brownsville Hub Cooperative is pursuing the following four-pronged strategy approach:
- Youth: Prioritize the needs and voices of young people.
- Access: Increase residents’ access to education, training, jobs, and financial resources.
- Ownership: Build community wealth by increasing residential and business ownership.
- Self-Sufficiency: Collectively build wealth by generating revenue as a community
Impact
Brownsville Hub Cooperative is a new partnership that launched in 2021 and is working through building the foundation to achieve its economic goals in Brownsville. The partnership is looking forward to presenting its model in its upcoming Innovations in the Field report.
Our Partners
Related Publications
JobsFirstNYC’s commitment to supporting community partners has paved the way for powerful collaborations with results-driven organizations like Robin Hood, and, in 2021, JobsFirstNYC was selected to be a Brownsville anchor partner for Robin Hood’s Mobility LABs initiative. Mobility Learning and Action Bets – Mobility LABs – is a pioneering, four-year initiative to spur the development […]
In the wake of the Great Recession, a strong economy made it easier for young adults to find jobs, leading to significant declines in the number and share of New Yorkers aged 18 to 24 who were out of school and out of work from 22 percent (187,588 young adults) in 2010, to 16 percent […]
