Meet the Inaugural Community Planning & Research Accelerator Cohort and 2026–2027 Taconic Fellows
- Meet the Inaugural CPRA Cohort
- Meet the 2026-2027 Taconic Fellows
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Pratt Center is expanding its support for community-engaged research and planning through two programs: the inaugural Community Planning & Research Accelerator (CPRA), which will provide funding and technical assistance directly to four community-based organizations, and the 2026–2027 Taconic Fellowship, which will support four projects led by Pratt Institute faculty and staff in partnership with community organizations.
A Letter from Our Executive Director
In our 60+ year history, we've seen how lasting change grows out of deep, long-term community partnerships. I'm excited to build on Pratt Center’s legacy to create new partnerships in the year ahead.
Recently, Pratt Center celebrated 10 years of the Taconic Fellowship. We looked back at the nearly eighty $12,000 grants that Pratt Center has awarded to projects proposed and led by Pratt Institute faculty and staff to work with community-based organizations. A generous legacy grant from the now-closed Taconic Foundation continues to make this work possible, providing ongoing resources for Pratt Center to support community-engaged research and planning.
This year, we are expanding the reach of that support through our new Community Planning & Research Accelerator (CPRA) program, which will provide funding and technical assistance directly to four community-based organizations. Alongside the four Taconic Fellowship awards to faculty this year, these projects will advance exciting new efforts to democratize planning and research.
To expand Pratt Center's community partnerships, we sought to build upon the lessons from the Taconic faculty fellowship and broaden the impact of our resources from the Taconic fund. What if we ask NYC community-based organizations directly what research and planning support they need, and provide them with the financial resources and technical assistance to advance the priorities they define themselves?
The result after a year of planning with various Pratt faculty, staff, and CBO partners is the CPRA, an exciting addition to the Taconic faculty fellowships. This past July, we launched a Call for Applications, hosted several informational webinars with over 80 attendees, and received 79 applications. This process demonstrated the depth and breadth of community expertise across the city, and the clear need and demand for the type of services Pratt Center provides.
After careful review, we selected four organizations whose work reflects the many ways communities across New York City are reimagining a better future. In addition to providing $15,000 grants to each organization, the Pratt Center team will bring decades of research, planning expertise, and technical assistance to help advance their work and build community power.
Alongside these new CPRA partnerships, we’re also happy to announce the four project teams that make up the 13th cohort of our Taconic Fellowship. I encourage you to read about all of their important work below.
We're excited to launch these new partnerships with an eye toward the future. By learning from the experience of our partners on the ground, we can continue to refine our programs, sharpen our skills, and expand our impact in shaping a more just and equitable city.
Alexa Kasdan
Executive Director, Pratt Center for Community Development
Meet the Inaugural CPRA Cohort
The Community Planning & Research Accelerator (CPRA) supports New York City organizations working to advance social justice through community-based planning or community-engaged research.
Through funding and hands-on technical assistance, the program will help organizations strengthen projects that build community power, address neighborhood challenges, and create lasting change.
South Bronx Unite is working to advance energy justice and build community power in Mott Haven and Port Morris. Together with Pratt Center and technical partners, South Bronx Unite will research local housing and energy needs and engage residents to explore how home energy improvements could contribute to a more equitable, community-centered energy future. This work will help identify opportunities, inform future strategies, and lay the groundwork for community-led energy initiatives.
Riis Beach Bloc Association
The Riis Beach Bloc Association (RBBA), initially incubated by People’s Riisearch Group, brings together organizers, community stewards, and beachgoers to care for and protect queer and trans communities’ access to the People's Beach in Jacob Riis Park, a historic gathering place for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. With technical assistance from Pratt Center, RBBA will facilitate a community planning process to develop a community-based plan for the former Neponsit Hospital site, centering community care, climate resilience, and ecological restoration while laying the groundwork for long-term community stewardship.
Mayday Space
Mayday Space is an organizing center and cultural hub in Bushwick, Brooklyn that offers programming and access to free or sliding-scale space for grassroots groups and community members doing mutual aid, political education, cultural work, and community celebrations. Facing the sale of the building it has called home since 2014, Mayday Space seeks to identify a new permanent home. Together with Pratt Center, Mayday will engage members, residents, program participants, and organizers to develop a Community Needs Assessment and plan for identifying a new space that is grounded in community priorities and Mayday’s values.
Queer Nightlife Community Center
Queer Nightlife Community Center (QNCC) is creating the first permanent, nonprofit, noncommercial home for New York’s underground queer nightlife. With support from Pratt Center, QNCC will explore pathways to community-controlled ownership of its building in East New York, combining site feasibility and land use analysis with community engagement to develop a credible, fundable roadmap toward permanent ownership.
Meet the 2026-2027 Taconic Fellows
The Taconic Fellowship is a program exclusively for Pratt Institute faculty, staff, and students working in close partnership with frontline communities throughout New York City.
Since 2013, each school year, Pratt Center awards project funding to facilitate community engagement projects in collaboration with mission-driven community-based organizations.
Designing for Safe Aging in Place
Designing for Safe Aging in Place is a partnership between student and faculty members of the Industrial Design program, the Chinese-American Planning Council, and the Nan Shan Older Adult Center. The team will engage in participatory research on current housing conditions and strategies to encourage safe aging in place for immigrant seniors. Read more.
Fellows: Jess Park and Sky Cheng
Community Partner: Chinese American Planning Council, Nan Shan Older Adult Center
Growing East New York’s Circular Future
Growing East New York's Circular Future is a partnership between students and faculty in the Sustainable Environmental Systems program and BK ROT. The team will support the city's first community-supported, bike-powered, fossil fuel-free food waste hauling and composting service as BK ROT expands its operations into East New York. Read more.
Fellows: Alexandra Colon, Ravena Pernanand, Donata Kraskauskaite, and Priya Mulgaonkar
Community Partner: BK ROT
Youth Designing Spaces for Community Justice
Youth Designing Spaces is a partnership between School of Architecture faculty and students and the Red Hook Community Justice Center. The team will lead participatory workshops with Red Hook youth to envision welcoming community spaces at Red Hook Houses, culminating in a public exhibition of their designs. Read more.
Fellows: Peter Macapia, Shayna Greggs, Evan Gonzales, and Christian Sky Miller
Community Partner: Red Hook Community Justice Center
On the Water: A Buoyant Life on NYC’s Urban Waters
Youth Designing Spaces is a partnership between School of Architecture faculty and students and the Red Hook Community Justice Center. The team will lead participatory workshops with Red Hook youth to envision welcoming community spaces at Red Hook Houses, culminating in a public exhibition of their designs. Read more.
Fellows: Peter Macapia, Shayna Greggs, Evan Gonzales, and Christian Miller
Community Partner: Red Hook Community Justice Center