Social Distance, Social Justice: How One Block Celebrated A Summer Of Being Neighbors In 2020
(Originally published in THE CITY, Aug. 10, 2020)
A summer of social distance and social justice culminates with a scaled down Brooklyn block party, focused on giving back to neighbors in need.
Work from home orders and COVID-19 lockdowns meant no longer spending long hours in other boroughs for many residents on St Johns Place in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The constantly changing conditions of the pandemic left many desperate for news of what was going on in the neighborhood, and how they could help. In Facebook and WhatsApp groups, neighbors, new and old, connected to share news and resources.
"You got to know your neighbors," said Phillip Antoniades, 50, who works in IT and has lived on the block for over 10 years. "At one point, I was caring for four different apartments in my building," he said, "for people who were really quarantining because they have live-in parents."
Many residents wanted to attend the protests that summer, but feared contracting COVID-19, so neighbors organized nightly vigils to remember victims of police violence.
Trina Fowler, 50, is the vice president of the St. Johns Block Association. She's lived on the block since 1982. Fowler wanted to attend the protests that started in late May following the killing of George Floyd, but was concerned about contracting COVID-19. Instead, she said, "we brought the protest to our block."
For the last two months, residents have lined the street at 8:46 p.m. to hold a protest and a vigil, starting with eight minutes and 46 seconds of silence - the amount of time George Floyd was pinned to the ground. Afterwards, with fists raised, the block chants the names of other victims of police violence, from Akai Gurley to Oscar Grant.
Mike Jones, a lifelong resident of the block and president of the block association, brought his neighbors together through Whats App and Facebook groups. He got local restaurants to donate food. This year, he said, revealed that the block was about "togetherness, community and respect."
After these protests, Fowler and some other residents, like Suguna Lorenzo, 44, who has lived on the block for 12 years, would get together and talk "after the rallies about what we want to do next for the community," she said, "and then Trina remembered that she had a friend at the F.O.O.D. Foundation," a group organizing food distribution.
Mike Jones, Fowler's husband and a lifelong resident of the block, is the president of the St Johns Block Association. Jones has been organizing annual block parties since 2004. His father started the block association in the early 1980s. The leafy trees that canopy the street were planted by Jones and his cousin when they were children.
Now, everyone calls him Mayor Mike. This year, he said it didn't feel safe to have a big event, and instead decided to scale things down with a focus on giving away meals, school supplies and books donated by Barnes and Nobles to people in the neighborhood.
This year, the annual block party was a smaller affair.
Neighbors help unload free meals from a truck.
Keith Brady Jr, 7, sits in a truck loaded with meals.
Phillip Antoniades has lived on the block for 10 years with his two kids. He said that around here, you really get to know your neighbors: "at one point I was caring for four different apartments in my building, for people who were really quarantining because they have live-in parents."
Arati Menon, an editor for a food website, moved to the neighborhood from Brooklyn Heights at the end of March - just as the pandemic was peaking in New York City. Menon said she got connected with Jones early on - “we heard Mike before we ever met him” - and has been attending the nightly vigils all summer. “We were blown away by the generous spirit of the neighborhood," she said, "I've been so excited for this all day. It feels like a big deal."
Dionne Morrison said that because of Fowler’s work with the block association, the whole block is unified. "When I was a kid, everyone knew everyone, just like here,” she said.
Trina Fowler, a resident since 1982, wanted to help ease the pressure many neighbors were feeling with food security: "A lot of people really wanted it, but wouldn't tell you that they needed it. That's why we had to tell everyone to take some meals, whether they need it or not."
Fowler and Suguna Lorenzo, a neighbor who helped coordinate the summer vigils and the block party, said the idea to bring meals, free books and school supplies came from conversations about how to have more impact on the block. "We talked after the rallies about what we want to do next for the community.”
Selina Jone has spent much of the summer caring for her 91-year-old mother at home and watching the squirrels in her backyard. She’s lived on the block since 1979 and said it’s great to see younger people getting involved with the neighborhood. "It's wonderful to see everyone out. We all want to know our more recent residents. Some new people in my building are not very talkative - some don't speak."
As the sun began to set, a neighborhood kid sits on a mailbox.
At 8:46pm, the party took a break for the block’s nightly vigil. Cars slowed as they passed, with some honking in support.
Fowler leads the block in a chant at the end of their vigil.