The Soundview Mural depicts the image of justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court Justice, along with other important figures and places in the community.In preparing an outline for an issue of our Realtor & Business Newsletter, I received a call from a freelance writer from Washington, DC, who wanted to interview me about a story she is working on for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). She was so impressed with one of our projects that she made it her top priority. We chatted for a while and I realized how much more I wanted to talk about the topic of her interview. Mostly because I know it was a major accomplishment and I have doubts whether relevant players fully realized its value. Perhaps it’s my fault for not doing a better job in selling the significance of the project. So, I decided to save the newsletter outline for a future issue and retell the story using 1,000 words.
When Kathy Zamechansky was sworn in as the new president for The Bronx-Manhattan North Association of Realtors (BMNAR), her main directive was to engage BMNAR in community projects that also promotes the benefits of working with Realtors. Once we learned of the many grants that are available through NAR, we were excited about the possibility of moving quickly to address that directive. Zamechansky and I reside in The Bronx and we both knew where to begin our engagement activity: Bronx Community Board #9 (BCB9) -— the poorest community board in The Bronx. It was now time to move forward.
The plan was to identify a project that would meet the criteria of a Placemaking Micro-Grant. Placemaking grants are awarded to local and state Realtor associations to help them and their members initiate placemaking projects in the community, like turning a parking lot into a farmer’s market or a vacant lot into a playground. Realtor associations and their Realtor members are actively engaged in the community and know the neighborhoods/the properties that would benefit most from these improvement efforts.
According to Zamechansky: “Realtors live, work and volunteer in their communities and take immense pride in working to improve them. Placemaking grants can help foster healthier, more social and economically viable communities. It creates places where people feel a strong stake in their neighborhoods and are committed to making things better. This grant will allow us to address areas in our community that are in need of improvement or redevelopment and create a place where friends and neighbors can come together.”
Our goal was to make The Bronx even more dynamic by taking something old and making it new. A call was made to William Rivera, who was the chairman of BCB#9, but is now the district manager of that community. He immediately responded optimistically to our call for action. Rivera was instrumental in formulating a project that would meet the criteria for a Placemaking Micro-Grant. We decided to take a wall that was covered with graffiti and turn it into a vibrant mural; a mural that will make all that live in that section of The Bronx proud.
It is a wonderful experience to work with people “who talk-the-talk and walk-the-walk.” Rivera reached out to famed artists from the neighborhood who had long moved on to other parts of the world. He convinced the artists to take part in the mural project by reminding them that, “there is no place like home.” Rivera also got other stakeholders involved who were convinced that the mural will become a master piece and soon the buzz about the mural took on a life of its own. Once the project was real and on paper, we applied for the grant. The response from NAR came quickly and we were all excited to receive a $2,200 grant to make the mural come to life.
The mural project took a few months to complete and it depicts the image of justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court Justice, along with other important figures and places in the community. On August 16, 2015, hundreds of people came out to witness the unveiling of the Soundview Mural. Congressman Serrano attended the unveiling and his office was instrumental in securing the appearance of Justice Sonia Sotomayor. It was an incredible day to listen to Justice Sotomayor talk about the mural and her thanking Realtors for the role they played in its creation.
Months later, the buzz was still in the air and calls were still coming into the BMNAR office asking about the Soundview Mural.
A $2,200 grant did net us a significant amount of coverage from local, state and national media sources: several stories on Bronx News 12; The Bronx Times, The Bronx Chronical, NYSAR Magazine, and most recently, the Soundview Mural was featured in NAR’s October 2015 issue of the Realtors Action Center News. Without a doubt, we exceeded the expectations of everyone involved in the mural project. A once old and dreary wall was turned into a beautiful and vibrant community space for people to gather and enjoy the wonderful story the mural has to tell. Zamechansky is extremely pleased with the work we did with BCB#9.
“The grant provides BMNAR with the opportunity to show BCB#9 that we are partners in making the Bronx a better place for people to live and work,” said Zamechansky.
Thanks to NAR, the leaders of Bronx Community Board, especially their district manager Rivera, and the artists that came home to The Bronx to tell a Bronx Tale: TATS CRU (Tone 163, Bio, Nicer, BG183, and Pretty Tone 163); Wallworks Gallery (Crash); and FX Crew (CES, Per One and Dero). The amazing Soundview Mural tale is rate G and is now playing on the wall Morrison Ave. and Westchester Sq. We expected the mural to draw people to the neighborhood to see a community masterpiece and we were not disappointed. However, we did not expect that a $2,220 NAR Placemaking Micro-grant would increase in value. Today, the Soundview Mural is valued at $55,000. If you have a moment, stop by and see why the Soundview Mural paints a thousand words.
To learn more about how the Realtors of the Bronx-Manhattan North are helping to build pride in their neighborhoods, contact me at [email protected] or 718.892.3000.
Eliezer Rodriguez, Esq. is the association executive officer for The Bronx-Manhattan North Association of Realtors, Bronx, N.Y.
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