Manhattan Community Board 10

ILR High Road New York is a statewide program that aims to teach ILR students practical methods for civic engagement and leadership through economic justice, evidence-based policy, and strategic development that creates opportunity for community members to share in prosperity.  The Summer 2024 New York City (NYC) High Road Fellowship Program will run from June 3rd to July 26th. Students intern in person with various NYC partner organizations and will participate in weekly cohort workshops focused on critical reflection and peer-to-peer collaboration and networking and learning opportunities with guest speakers will be offered at ILR's NYC office on Lexington Avenue. All interns will be paid and need-based subsidized housing will be available. 

Manhattan Community Board 10 covers the Central Harlem neighborhood in Northern Manhattan. Three of the District’s four major boundaries are natural features: Harlem River to the north, Central Park to the south and the Fordham Cliffs to the west. CB10 consists of the major thorough-fair, West 125th Street, home of the 125th Street Business Improvement District (BID), located primarily in Central Harlem, which 125th Street extends from E. Harlem to W. Harlem. The 125th Street corridor, especially in central Harlem is seeing major development, with commercial stores and the strip is home to the iconic Apollo Theatre. The upcoming projects along the corridor include the soon-to-be completed Studio Museum of Harlem, the Urban League Empowerment Center, NYC EDC’s recent Mart125 project, and the National Black Theatre [located in E. Harlem, on other side of 5th Ave at the CB10/CB11 border], as well as the recently opened Victoria Hotel with affordable housing, which will also host a number of arts organizations. Harlem is still often recognized as the “Black Mecca” of America, as the birthplace of the Harlem Renaissance after African-Americans migrated North during the “Great Migration.” The 2020 Census data showed changes in Harlem’s population, which will continue to change. The intern will work on any/all of the following projects: 

1. Land Use & Zoning: Multiple research and data opportunities with our Land Use Committee. Work alongside our Land Use Committee on various city and community board initiatives. This year, the community board saw multiple proposals through the NYC Dept. of City Planning such as NYC City Of Yes: Carbon Neutrality, Economic Opportunity & Housing Opportunity. Interns would provide data and research on how these proposals (particularly Housing Opportunity) can impact current residents and long-time residents in the long-term and if these proposals are sufficient to keep residents from being priced-out. Interns can also work alongside the Land Use Committee’s City Council-funded project with the J. Max Bond Center to identify vacant lots and identify potential land use projects and mapping tool to support the community in zoning and development ideas.

2. Housing: Provide research and data report on the city’s recent settlement to reduce the community resident set-aside in affordable housing developments from 50% to 20% and eventually 15% will impact gentrification, long-time residents and change the demographic make-up of long-time communities of color, particularly Central Harlem.

3. Economic Development, Technology and Communications Committee: Review the impact of A.I. on communities of color, economic impacts of cannabis legislation on Central Harlem as an impacted neighborhood during cannabis prohibition, and data and research on how to provide overall economic development in communities of color that have seen historic disinvestment. This Committee hosts an annual cannabis conference, A.I. Tech Conference and a recent Job Fair to promote career and job opportunities in the community. 125th Street BID was also recently awarded with a Streetscape research grant that would impact the Central Harlem neighborhood.

The Manhattan Community Board 10 Office is located on 215 West 125th Street, 4th Floor New York, NY 10027.