Heart of Brooklyn (HOB) was a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

active from 2001-2013 led by six cultural institutions located near

Grand Army Plaza Grand Army Plaza, originally known as Prospect Park Plaza, is a public plaza that comprises the northern corner and the main entrance of Prospect Park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It consists of concentric oval rings arranged as s ...

in central

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The partnership consisted of

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is a botanical garden in the Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The botanical garden occupies in central Brooklyn, close to Mount Prospect Park, Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park, ...

Brooklyn Children's Museum The Brooklyn Children's Museum is a children's museum in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. Founded in 1899, it is the first children's museum in the United States – and according to some, the first one worldwide. It ...

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

Brooklyn Public Library The Brooklyn Public Library is the public library system of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is the sixteenth largest public library system in the United States by holding and the seventh by number of visitors. Like the two Brooklyn Publ ...

Prospect Park Prospect Park may refer to: Businesses * Prospect Park (production company), entertainment production company *Prospect Park Productions NZ, theatre company based in Dunedin, New Zealand Places New Zealand * Prospect Park, New Zealand, a portion ...

and

Prospect Park Zoo The Prospect Park Zoo is a zoo located off Flatbush Avenue on the eastern side of Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York City. , the zoo houses 864 animals representing about 176 species, and , it averaged 300,000 visitors annually. The Prospect P ...

History

Seeking a way in which to encourage visitors to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

to see

's other four boroughs, the six organizations came together to promote Brooklyn as a cultural destination. Although it was officially founded in 2001, the organizations had been working together on an unofficial level since 1998 with the launching of the program's summer camp, called ''Brooklyn Cultural Adventures Program'' or BCAP. Through the formal partnership established in 2001 and launched on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

in 2002, the group was able to expand its offerings and better pool its resources. The group ceased operations on Valentine's Day 2013, although BCAP was continued.

Activities

HOB ran the Brooklyn Cultural Adventures Program (BCAP), a program and summer camp based at HOB's member institutions. The camp is designed to engage children in cultural activities during the summer as well as introduce them to the organizations and their collections thereby attracting a new generation of cultural consumers. Heart of Brooklyn's goal was to make its organizations more visible and accessible. The partnership ran a free shuttle service called The HOB Connection, announced in November 2008, which delivers passengers to its cultural institutions. The service was designed to help tourists in Manhattan and residents of Brooklyn reach the cultural hub surrounding Prospect Park. HOB also worked with local merchants and community leaders on neighborhood revitalization efforts, having been selected as a ''Core Provider for Avenue NYC'' as well as participating in the ''NYC Clean Streets'' program. HOB was a member of and active participant in the Washington Avenue-Prospect Heights Merchants Association. In addition, HOB's collaboration with

Brooklyn Borough Hall Brooklyn Borough Hall is a building in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. It was designed by architects Calvin Pollard and Gamaliel King in the Greek Revival style, and constructed of Tuckahoe marble under the supervision of superintendent ...

produced tourism initiatives geared toward marketing the borough as a whole, such as Brooklyn Pass. The Pass includes free or reduced admission to participating organizations as well as discounts at other venues throughout the Borough. HOB published a monthly newsletter entitled ''Heartbeat'', and in May 2009, published the ''Extraordinary Places in the Heart of Brooklyn'' coupon booklet in cooperation with neighborhood shops and businesses.

Awards and recognition

In 2008, Heart of Brooklyn, in conjunction with

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

and Commerce Bank, was awarded an Encore AwardArts & Business Council of New York Encore Awards web page
/ref> by the

Arts & Business Council of New York Americans for the Arts is a nonprofit organization whose primary focus is advancing the arts in the United States with offices in Washington, D.C., and New York City, and more than 50 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to repre ...

. The award recognized the efforts of these institutions to link local economic and cultural activities, most notably through Heart of Brooklyn and American Express’ ''Keep It Local'' campaign. On July 13, 2009, HOB was presented with a 2009 Neighborhood Achievement Award presented by the Mayor and

New York City Department of Small Business Services The New York City Department of Small Business Services (NYC SBS) is a municipal department of New York City supporting small businesses throughout the five boroughs. NYC SBS provides a wide range of programs, services, and resources aimed at hel ...

, in recognition of its efforts in the neighborhood of Prospect Heights. Heart of Brooklyn’s BCAP program was selected as a 2009 Coming Up Taller semifinalist by the

President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) was an advisory committee to the President of the United States on cultural issues. It works directly with the White House and the three primary cultural agencies: the National End ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heart Of Brooklyn 2001 establishments in New York City Culture of Brooklyn Non-profit organizations based in Brooklyn Tourism in New York City Organizations established in 2001

History

Activities

Awards and recognition

See also

References

External links