NAG 2011 Neighborhood Gala and Fundraiser
Saturday, November 5, 2011
8 pm to midnight
Causey Contemporary, 92 Wythe Ave
Tickets available at Brown Paper Tickets
On Saturday, November 5th, Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG) will hold its 2nd Annual Neighborhood Gala and Fundraiser. NAG has been an active voice for the improvement of quality of life in North Brooklyn for 17 years… and we have a lot to celebrate! We hope that you can join us in celebrating NAG’s accomplishments and those of of our honorees. Tickets for the event are $75 and are available online.
This year we are honoring four people who have made a difference for Williamsburg and Greenpoint: Debbie Masters, artist and activist; Andrew Bak, Greenpoint business owner and Northside Town Hall supporter; Helena Przybylska, Greenpoint Soup Kitchen volunteer; and Megan Bell, NAG’s wonderful pro bono attorney.
NAG is a volunteer-based community planning and environmental justice organization that has been performing grassroots organizing, advocacy and outreach in the North Brooklyn waterfront community of Williamsburg/Greenpoint. Founded in 1994 as Neighbors Against Garbage, NAG’s original mission was to connect the underused Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfronts back into the adjacent neighborhoods while preserving the mixed-income and mixed-use character of our larger community. NAG successfully organized community residents and businesses in opposition to the proliferation of waste-transfer stations on our waterfront.
During the rezoning of the Williamsburg/Greenpoint waterfront, NAG was a key organizer of the North Brooklyn Alliance (NBA) – a coalition of community groups and residents. Through NBA, NAG was able to unite these groups behind four central themes – parks and open space; affordable housing; industrial retention; and manageable height and density. Many of the positive changes that were worked out with the City during the rezoning came as a result of the work of NBA.
In the past year, NAG has kicked off a loft-tenant advocacy program, and has started an initiative to get the city to move forward with the creation of Williamsburg Bridge Park – a new waterfront park on the East River south of the Domino site. Once again, we were a lead organizer of Williamsburg Walks, which turns Bedford Avenue into a pedestrian public plaza for two weekends each summer. And we continue to push the City to live up to its open space, affordable housing and transportation commitments from the 2005 rezoning.
NAG continues to host monthly NAG Action meetings, educating the community on issues such as buy-local campaigns, voter registration, and other issues of civic engagement. One of our most important endeavors continues to be our partnership with the People’s Firehouse in the acquisition and rehabilitation of former Engine House 212 into a Northside Town Hall Community Center.
Our community has changed dramatically since the days of garbage dumps on the waterfront, and much of the positive change that we see today is due to the work that NAG has done over those 17 years. As our community has changed, our mission has too – but our core values remain the same. Today, NAG continues to be North Brooklyn’s preeminent volunteer organization advocating for improved quality of life, good growth, access to parks and open space and other issues of social, economic and environmental justice.
If you are interested in sponsoring the NAG Gala, please download our sponsor information form here.
