Washington Heights Org Joins Summit On NYC Coronavirus Recovery

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Recovery strategies from architects, engineers, lawyers, planners and community health experts for New York City neighborhoods hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic will be unveiled for the first time next week.

A two-part virtual summit, set to start Tuesday, will bring together groups who have been working for months with "Neighborhoods Now," an initiative set up by the Urban Design Forum and Van Allen Institution to channel free resources into recovery strategies.

The community groups — hailing from Washington Heights, Bed-Stuy, Jackson Heights, Kingsbridge, and the Lower East Side — will use the summit to highlight work they've done since the initiative started and discuss their goals for a longer-term recovery.

The group representing the Washington Heights is the Community League of the Heights (CLOTH).

CLOTH is a "community development corporation dedicated to building equitable, prosperous, and healthy northern Manhattan neighborhoods," according to its Facebook.

You can find out more about what CLOTH does in Inwood and Washington Heights on its website.

"Throughout the summer, these organizations collaborated with coalitions of architects, engineers, lawyers, and planners from Van Alen and Urban Design Forum's collective network," organizers wrote. "Together, they have developed tailored solutions for shared gathering spaces, including restaurants, storefronts, civic and cultural organizations, parks, and streets."

Find more information about the initiative here.

Patch reporter Anna Quinn contributed to this report.