Brooklyn Neighborhood Improvement Association, Inc.

New York City 2026 Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) application is out.

NYC SYEP 2024 placement exercise.

Generational Questions

Just because we haven't sat in a completely segregated classroom, does that mean we received the best quality education available to us, when taught by others, in our somewhat integrated school environment?
Just because we are not aware of how our employment application and resume were shuffled to the bottom of the prospective interviewees pile, does that mean we were provided with an equal opportunity to the jobs we applied for?
Just because we possess the requisite qualifications, credentials, and experience to handle the responsibility of a particular higher position, does that mean someone, who does not look like us, with less ability to perform the duties of the job, won’t necessarily be hired for the position, instead of us?
Just because we haven't experienced a Rodney King or Amadou Diallo - type confrontation with the police, does that mean we are able to trust law enforcement to protect and serve us and our families, as they do other citizens that don’t look like us?
Just because we made a statement on social media that was critical of a company’s policies, questioned the laws and policies of your country, or highlighted some perceived injustice, does that mean that any company or level of government hasn’t identified us as a radical threat that cannot be trusted to be employed by them, making our ability to earn a living and support our families and community seriously challenged, if not impossible?
Just because we personally benefit from some political decision that improves our relative financial position, does that mean that we can and should support the overall negative policies that are proposed and promoted by a particular political party that are not in our best interest or that of our community?
Just because someone of a different cultural persuasion smiles in our face and is glad to take whatever positive energy we have, does that mean we can and should trust them with our lives and all our hard earned resources, only to discover that our behavior and decisions have not only deprived us of some much needed unity and psychological support but has also reduced the possibility of us developing generational wealth in our families and our community?
Just because pop culture has evolved to a place where there are no boundaries concerning personal behavior, public speech, and self-respect, does that mean we are obligated to forget or lose every moral principle we were ever taught that supports our spiritual well-being, such that we not only become a target for the depraved, perverted and hateful users of this world, but also become unwitting purveyors of chaos, disorder, and disrespect?
Just because we may not have experienced the pain of a water cannon, terrorizing water against our face and body, nor the shock of the fangs of a police dog ripping into our flesh while we were peacefully raising our voices and challenging the country to do better, does that mean that racism has ceased to exist and that we no longer have to speak out against bigotry, nor protest to maintain and expand the rights we have?
Just because we want to belong, does it mean we must assimilate and give up the essence of who we are, just so we can exist in a space where we will never be accepted nor ever totally respected?
Just because we have the relative financial ability to dine where we have an interest to eat, dress as we wish to impress, live almost anywhere we choose to put a roof over our heads, does that mean it makes economic sense for us to continually financially support every other community more than our own, assisting the growth and development of all others, at the expense of owning and developing our own?
Just because we choose not to be exploited by one party’s set of ideas and policies, does that mean it’s okay to be exploited by a different party’s set of ideas and policies, or to be intimidated, or choose to be lazy, or to be apathetic, or to be apolitical enough to not care if we give our voting power away?
Just because the physical chains have been removed from our ankles, does that mean that there is no need to constantly be vigilant about removing and keeping the psychological chains from our minds?
Are we consciously loving and supporting and perpetuating every aspect of ourselves, just because?

Deadline Extended to March 15th, 2024.

Don’t miss the opportunity to apply

If you’re a New York City resident and 14 - 24 years old. You can apply for 2024 SYEP program by selecting Brooklyn Neighborhood Improvement Association, Inc. (BNIA).

Brooklyn Neighborhood Improvement Association

The following positions are vacant and need to be filled asap:

1. Client Care Coordinator
2. HUD Certified Housing Counselor
3. Urban Housing Specialist
3. Family/Security Monitor

Send your resume to: [email protected]

At HES job fair with Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, minority leader and with the staff from BNIA

Application deadline for the 2023 SYEP has been extended to Friday, April 14th, 2023. APPLY NOW!

2023 Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)

Brooklyn Neighborhood Improvement Association

Many rising issues surrounding landlords and tenants right in NYC. Join Brooklyn Neighborhood Improvement Association, INC. as they take us through an educative journey on Tenant Rights.
Details in picture attached