We envision a world where young people living in Staten Island’s most forgotten neighborhoods are a central voice in building neighborhood power and autonomy.
Our Vision for Staten Island
We envision a Staten Island that acknowledges historic harms against marginalized communities and actively repairs them. A borough where:
Young people can organize, learn, work, create, live, and dream
Staten Island’s most marginalized communities build and keep neighborhood wealth.
The “forgotten borough” label is retired, and our contributions to New York City’s culture, economy, and identity are recognized.
Youth lead multigenerational coalitions that address the root causes of injustice.
Shorelines, neighborhoods, blocks, and street corners are shaped by the people who live there.
Staten Islanders run a strong, interdependent, just food system and local economy.
Land taken from Indigenous peoples and marginalized groups is returned and stewarded by the groups harmed.
The harms and atrocities committed against African-American and Indigenous communities in Staten Island are uncovered, acknowledged, and remembered to create new futures and just worlds.
Beyond Staten Island
We envision a world where community organizing is a way of life and communities shape their futures:
Community organizing is a daily practice in the most marginalized communities.
Everyone has access to essential life skills.
“Forgotten” communities, burdened by harmful stereotypes, are recognized, valued, and visible at every scale, from neighborhoods to continents.
Youth are central in transforming injustices, public spaces, and community narratives.
Multigenerational coalitions and community collectives are the pillars of neighborhoods and street corners.
Forgotten Foods & Youth Internship Program
The internship educates, trains, and organizes youth to creatively transform Staten Island’s local food system, culture, and neighborhood spaces.
Forgotten Foods Fellowship
Fellows are trained to be neighborhood organizers who creatively solve local root cause issues in food justice and youth developers. They learn Forgotten Foods’s community organizing approach and principles, food justice and mutual aid-related terms, political education, and how to analyze City policy.
