Pratt Center for Community Development

Bedford-Stuyvesant

Bedford-Stuyvesant
197-a Community Plan

In 2001, Community Board 3 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, decided to embark on a comprehensive community-based planning process called a 197-a plan. A diverse segment of the community, including residents, activists, community leaders, staff of community-based organizations, business people, religious leaders, seniors and youth, came together to develop a comprehensive plan for Bedford-Stuyvesant. The 197-a planning process involves a considerable amount of public participation and research over an extended period of time, and Community Board 3 partnered with the Pratt Center to help the Board create a broadly inclusive participatory process.

A Steering Committee comprised of 120 community members was formed in the fall of 2001 to guide the planning process. The Pratt Center lead the Steering Committee in an intensive series of meetings and held public community visioning forums throughout the community to encourage participation from all parts of Community Board 3. The purpose of the forums was to hear from residents, businesses and community-based organizations about their concerns and hopes for the neighborhood, and to develop a vision for the future of the community.

The resulting 197-a plan provides a framework for future development in the community. The Plan's main goals are to:

• Build upon the already strong social, economic, and cultural base of Bedford-Stuyvesant through a sustainable agenda that would reinvigorate this ethnically and culturally diverse community,
• Provide for future growth as well as preservation of Bedford-Stuyvesant's physical and demographic character,
• Provide housing and services that are affordable to the community, and
• Create conditions to generate good jobs for its residents.

In September 2004, Community Board 3 unanimously approved the plan contingent upon revisions. After the Pratt Center revised the plan to comply with City Planning review requirements, the plan was resubmitted to the Community Board on April 1, 2005. Following the Board’s final review, the plan will be submitted for adoption by the Department of City Planning.

The 197-a Plan:

The Bedford-Stuyvesant 197-a Plan is available in PDF format.

Section	Description
Cover Page
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
Introduction
Existing Conditions
Existing Conditions Maps
Recommendations
Recommendations Maps
Glossary
Appendix A	Introduction
Appendix B	Demographic Analyses
Appendix C	Land Use & Zoning Analyses
Appendix D	Housing Analyses
Appendix E	Economic Characteristics
Appendix F	Community Facilities
Appendix G	Letters to Agencies