Laurelton Residents Come Together With Habitat for Humanity NYC

By
Clarisa James
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The final meeting date for Laurelton Operation Clean Up was September 9th and ended the season with a bang!

Melva Miller, Lead Organizer of Laurelton Operation Clean Up and Jennifer Schwerin of Habitat for Humanity NYC

The final project of the season was the design of a new mural and improved landscaping. A coalition of organizations proposed to Habitat for Humanity the idea of a mural at the Laurelton LIRR station in abstract form that would feature the beauty of the tudor homes  in Laurelton, highlighting elders who have made a difference in community over twenty years in silhouette form.

Volunteers planted new landscaping by the existing murals by at the Laurelton station
Erin Jones checks out the work in progress of the new mural going up at the Laurelton LIRR station.

 

Some of the elders featured on the mural will be Judy Rivera, Bess DeBethem, Robert Glover, Bonnie Huie, Dwight Johnson and Mike Carter. Residents of Laurelton painted the mural and it will be completed by 9/14/17. In addition, residents also cleaned the LIRR property and added new plants that were provided by Habitat for Humanity NYC. Almost 40 volunteers showed up on a Saturday to serve the Laurelton community and then were celebrated in the afternoon at the Laurelton library recognizing everyones hard work by local elected officials.

Senator Leroy Comrie congratulates Judy Rivera of The Federated Blocks of Laurelton for all their work.

 

 

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Clarisa James
Clarisa James
Clarisa James is the Co-Founder/Executive Director of DIVAS (Digital Interactive Visual Arts Sciences) for Social Justice. For the past seven years DIVAS has provided free or sliding scale technology training to youth in underserved communities in Central Brooklyn and Southeast Queens. Ms. James has been dedicated to youth development work for the past 15years in the roles of Teaching Artist, After School Director, Curriculum Specialist and artist. Her life's work encompasses empowering youth in underserved communities to use technology for social change and think critically about the issues that are affecting them most. For the past seven years Ms. James has facilitated workshops that help youth develop multimedia projects around environmental justice, housing, leadership development and reproductive justice. Ms. James holds an MFA in Integrated Media Arts from Hunter College's Film & Media Department. In addition to DIVAS for Social Justice, Ms. James currently serves on the advisory board of the Children’s Cabinet, Office of the Deputy Mayor Strategic Policy Initiatives at City Hall. Clarisa James is full of gratitude to her parents for providing such a wonderful upbringing and having the foresight to move into the community of Laurelton in the early 1970's. Clarisa is proud to be a daughter of Laurelton.

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