CUP: Store

Urban Investigations

I Heart East New York

In 2009, Brooklyn College Community Partnership (BCCP) asked CUP to team up with their students to investigate neighborhood change. CUP, teaching artist Hatuey Ramos-Fermín, and the students, many of them East New Yorkers, noticed some odd new buildings popping up in a desolate landfill on the border of East New York. What were these strange rows of houses and where did they come from? After conducting research and interviews on the mysterious Nehemiah Spring Creek Houses, they created a storybook record (with over a dozen original songs!) to teach others what they learned.

Take a look at the book and listen to the songs to learn about a fascinating model of congregation-based community development.