Dabu, Joel: Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation oral histories: NYU Special Collections Finding Aids

Scope and Contents

In this interview, Joel Dabu discusses his work in community revitalization with Restoration and its emphasis on commercial rehabilitation and the Bedford-Stuyvesant Gateway Business Improvement District. He shares his views on redlining, segregation, and the construction and availability of affordable housing -- as well as possible negative effects such as gentrification and displacement. Dabu discusses the role local government can play in supporting community entrepreneurship and the possible effects of the 2008 economic recession. Interview conducted by Bahati Williams.

Biographical / Historical

Joel Dabu was born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1980, and attended New York University's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where he received a master's degree in Urban Planning. At the time of the 2008 interview, Dabu worked as a Commercial Revitalization Manager at Restoration, where his main task consisted of aiding in the revitalization of the Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue business district.

Conditions Governing Access and Use

Access to the interview is available onsite at the Brooklyn Historical Society's Othmer Library and online on the Oral History Portal. Use of the oral histories other than for private study, scholarship, or research requires permission from BHS by contacting library@brooklynhistory.org.

Subjects

Organizations

Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation

Topics

Places

Bedford-Stuyvesant (New York, N.Y.); Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)

Dabu, Joel, 2008 April 11, inclusive