Weeksville Heritage Center Saved With New Designation From City

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — The Weeksville Heritage Center was saved from a potentially fatal financial crisis when City Council secured it new protections and funding, officials announced Friday.

The museum at St. Marks and Buffalo avenues — the site of the nation’s first free African-American settlement that predates the Civil War— will become eligible for special grants and funding from the city as a Cultural Institutions Group, community City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo announced Friday.

“Weeksville is sacred African American ground,” stated Cumbo, a Brooklyn Democrat. “For generations, it served as a beacon of hope for those seeking refuge from the vestiges of slavery.”

The news comes about two months after Weeksville owners announced the center would be forced to close without a $200,000 influx in fund.

New Yorkers rushed to support Historic Weeksville, which in 1838 was one of the first places where black people were free to own homes, build businesses and establish schools and churches, some of which still stand today.

The museum’s crowdfunding campaign raised $240,000 in less than two weeks.

Weeksville will be the first black CIG in Brooklyn out about three dozen institutions, according to Cumbo, noting the museum was denied CIG status in 2013.

“Supporting Weeksville as a Cultural Institutions Group is a recognition of African American longevity and a commitment from the city writ large," Cumbo said.

"Weeksville will continue to serve as a learning center for many years to come.”