Build, Power Transform: For an Inclusive City
Join us for a night of food, drinks, and music, as we celebrate Fifth Avenue Committee’s Build, Power, Transform Benefit at BAMcafé!
We will celebrate FAC’s impact on the community and honor leaders, organizers, and partners who have supported FAC’s efforts to Build, Power, y Transform the lives of local residents and communities as we work to advance equity and justice for an inclusive city.
Click here to Register
Proceeds from the benefit provide essential support for FAC’s mission, programs, and services to advance economic, social and racial justice in New York City.
Sponsorship opportunities start at: $1,500
Individual/Corporate Rate: $500
Community Partner (Non-Profit/Government) Rate: $350
Click here for the full list of sponsorship opportunities and sponsorship levels here
If you are unable to attend the event but would like to contribute, you can donate here.
Honorees
Power Award Recipient
Council Member Lincoln Restler
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Lincoln Restler is the Councilmember for the 33tercero District, representing the neighborhoods of Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Dumbo, Fulton Ferry, Vinegar Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard; prior to redistricting, he also represented the neighborhood of Gowanus including NYCHA developments such as Gowanus Houses and Wyckoff Gardens, as well as the FAC Center for Community Development. Councilmember Restler has been a fierce advocate for LMI New Yorkers, fighting for affordable housing and NYCHA residents.
Following the Gowanus rezoning agreement with the City of New York he was actively involved in launching the Gowanus Oversight Task Force and ensuring that the city follows through on its commitments that included $200 million in capital improvements to NYCHA. He was also instrumental in the rezoning of 280 Bergen Street in Boreum Hill, adding 225 new affordable units and a new grocery store to the neighborhood and encouraged HPD to issue an RFP for 100% affordable housing at the Bergen Street lot between Nevins Street and 3tercero Avenue.
Transform Award Recipient
The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Bay Ridge, led by Rev. Juan Carlos Ruiz, has been a leader in advocating for immigrants and asylum seekers in New York City for over 15 years. Rev. Ruiz, who has long been a leader for immigrant rights at the national level, became pastor of the church in 2018. During COVID, the church expanded its support to the community, starting a food pantry for food insecure residents. From 2020-2022, the church provided food for as many as 3,000 families per week. In July 2022, as border states began bussing immigrants and asylum seekers to NYC, the church responded to their community’s growing needs, initially by providing short-term shelter to families when the city could not accommodate all nuevo arrivals.
Rev. Ruiz and the church members quickly noticed the gap in legal support and other services for asylum seekers and, worried about the separation of families, started a legal clinic. The church reached out to local community organizations to address other needs, and connected with Fifth Avenue Committee’s Adult Education team who has provided English language training and other support in conjunction with the legal clinic. With the support of about 100 community volunteers and church members, the church now serves around 300 families each week through its food pantry, legal clinic, and educational programs; they recently launched an independent nonprofit, South Brooklyn Sanctuary, aimed at expanding services to asylum seekers in the city.
Our Lead Sponsor
Our Leadership Circle Sponsors
Chicago Title Insurance Company
Thank you, Sponsors!
For more information about the event, please contact our event planner Kathleen Parisi, K2New Business Development & Marketing Strategies at: kathleen@k2new.net or her colleague Laura D’Aprix en Laura.Daprix@verizon.net.
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