The challenge:

A high-profile local development corporation called upon TMO to devise a strategy to incorporate community input and engender local support for the creation of an innovative, mixed-use, multicultural arts district in the neighborhood surrounding the Brooklyn Academy of Music.  The project is converting vacant parking lots and other underutilized properties into a mix of affordable space for visual, performing and media arts organizations, along with arts-related educational programs, a variety of housing, public open space and such amenities as restaurants, cafés, retail and parking.

The strategy:

Tapping our "street-smart" expertise in community relations, TMO developed a three-part strategic plan including community outreach and community organizing, media relations, and a marketing, advertising and collateral program.  To build support for the plan, TMO conducted one-on-one meetings with numerous civic leaders and organized a succession of community workshops.

The results:

Thanks to constructive community relations and media relations work, the BAM Cultural District has been proceeding on schedule and has attracted considerable favorable media coverage.  The District attracted several feature stories in the New York Times, highlighted by a photo spread in the Sunday magazine.  Flattering placements have also landed in the Daily News and in community publications.  Community leaders and the development group are cooperating to address housing, educational, and economic development concerns.  Aided by a spirit of communication and accountability shared with community representatives, the District is emerging as a vibrant resource for the arts, the local community, the borough of Brooklyn and New York City as a whole.