By Steven Spinola
Anyone who’s ever struggled to succeed in New York City knows the meaning of Frank Sinatra’s famous line, “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.”
It is this mindset which has led countless singers, actors, dancers, and other artists to our city over the years. To this day, the Ol’ Blue Eyes anthem continues to inspire new arrivals to follow their dreams in the five boroughs.
REBNY believes that it is extremely important to embrace that ideal and ensure that New York will always be a place where ambitious dreams can become reality.
To further that mission, I am pleased to be able to announce that REBNY will be partnering with chashama, a nonprofit organization which supports New York City-based artists by providing spaces to create and exhibit their work.
Since it was founded in 1995 by Anita Durst, chashama has made a significant impact in our city’s cultural, dynamic, and diverse environment.
It has transformed over 80 locations throughout the five boroughs, served over 12,000 artists with access to free and affordable work and presentation space, presented over 2,500 events, and reached over 2,000,000 viewers. It is also heavily engaged in community services and activities, participating in youth programs, local community boards, schools, BIDS, small businesses, arts organizations, economic development corporations, and much more.
This is all in addition to the immeasurably positive atmospheric effects chasama has had on the communities it has become a part of, and the large number of opportunities it has led to for New Yorkers of all ages, both directly and indirectly.
chashama also holds partnerships with important organizations such as the New York City Economic Development Corporation, The Janus Property Company, L+M Development Partners, Mid-Bronx Senior Citizens Council, Material for the Arts, and more.
Through these alliances, chashama has spent the past 20 years developing a network which reaches every corner of our city, proving that no community is too big or small to take part in for the amazing opportunities chashama has to offer.
Specifically, REBNY will be supporting chashama’s new Access Real Estate for the Arts (AREA) initiative, which will seek out structurally sound spaces compliant with city building codes and permits and recondition them for specific arts use.
chashama will also provide several benefits to landlords, such as facility management, comprehensive insurance, and logistical and curatorial support for the installation and management of exhibition and artists.
They will also screen and interview all artists before they are allowed into a space, allow brokers to show spaces as needed, and provide comprehensive insurance coverage with up to $5 million liability.
By working alongside chashama, REBNY hopes to expand chashama’s reach and maximize the number of neighborhoods and communities in New York which can be rejuvenated through this program.
With chashama’s high level of professionalism, skills in facility management, and logistical and curatorial support systems, this partnership is sure to result in tremendous benefits for not only artists in New York, but also for their communities and REBNY’s members.
This partnership will also allow REBNY to provide its membership with broader and more creative uses for unused spaces, raise property profiles, and form positive connections with local communities through chashama’s cultural programming.
As one of the driving forces behind New York City’s economy, the real estate industry has much help to offer other industries for the greater good of our city, and chashama represents a prime example of that level of collaboration.
chashama is a unique, innovative, and creative model which holds tremendous potential for growth, and REBNY looks forward to doing its best to assisting it in reaching that potential.
To get involved, visit www.chashama.org or contact Jeanine Wilson at Jeanine@chashama.org.
In other REBNY news:
SPOTLIGHT ON TRANSPORTATION: Don’t miss our recent educational video on the critical role transportation infrastructure plays our region’s overall economic health and development. Visit rebny.com to watch our Chairman Rob Speyer and New York’s leading transportation experts discuss the role mass transit plays in the metropolitan area, major projects underway, and future challenges facing our transit system.
March 31 is the REBNY Members’ Luncheon. From 11:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., join REBNY members and industry leaders as they gather to hear guest speakers Scott Rechler, CEO of RXR Realty, Douglas Harmon, Senior Managing Director of Eastdil Secured, and Jeff Sutton, Founder and President of Wharton Properties, as they discuss “Market Forces & Factors Behind Today’s Billion Dollar Retail & Office Deals.” The Luncheon will be at the Hilton New York, and more information can be found either on REBNY.com or by contacting Ossie Shemtov at OShemtov@rebny.com.
Submissions for Retail Deal of the Year are due on April 2 by 5 p.m. Be sure to check the official contest rules at rebny.com, and for more information contact Desiree Jones at DJones@rebny.com.
REBNY’s next Residential Rental Clinic Seminar, “Pitching Landlords and Developers For Exclusive Listings,” is on April 10 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the Mendik Education Center.
Registration is required for this free seminar available to REBNY members only, which will feature speaker Karla Saladino of Mirador Real Estate.
For more information, visit REBNY.com or contact Yesenia Dhanraj at YDhanraj@rebny.com.
