Heart of Brooklyn records
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Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Heart of Brooklyn was a non-profit cultural consortium that included Brooklyn Children's Museum, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park Alliance, and Prospect Park Zoo. Records document the organization's activities from 1997 to their official closure in 2023. Items include founding documents, surveys and reports, materials concerning various programs and tourism initiatives, financial records, promotional materials, and closing documents.
Historical Note
The Brooklyn Children's Museum, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park Alliance, and Prospect Park Zoo spent years managing an informal relationship through cross-institutional programs and events. In 1997, these institutions began to explore the creation of an independent non-profit, initially called the Brooklyn Cultural Consortium, to promote the member institutions as local and regional cultural heritage destinations, coordinate multi-institutional programs, complete a comprehensive visitor survey, and establish road markers and signage.
In early 2001 the consortium hired a part-time consultant and was awarded a planning grant from the Wallace Foundation. The consortium was named Heart of Brooklyn (HOB) and began conducting focus groups, committee meetings, and community outreach. HOB was formally incorporated in June 2001 and launched on February 13, 2002, with a celebration at Grand Army Plaza. In the Spring, HOB launched its member calendar, which served as a reference guide to highlight activities at HOB institutions and began overseeing the Brooklyn Cultural Adventures Program (BCAP). BCAP quickly became a HOB signature program, offering summer camp sessions with a focus on programs at member institutions. The HOB website was launched in December.
In 2003, HOB began hosting Neighborhood Weekends, a celebration featuring programming from HOB member institutions. The first was held at the Ebbets Field Houses, attracting 150 participants, and the second at the Red Hook Houses, which saw an attendance of 600. Later that year HOB hired an economic development consultant to analyze potential commercial revitalization in Central Brooklyn. That research led to the creation of Crown Heights Renaissance, a program to promote and strengthen the commercial corridors surrounding member communities. HOB also launched their e-newsletter Heartbeats, and BKLYN Magazine, a quarterly publication highlighting Brooklyn people and businesses that was transferred to Townhouse Communications the following year.
HOB staff moved into their first dedicated office space in February 2005, a storefront at 789 Washington Avenue. Staff members began attending trade shows, partnering with other tourism initiatives, and launched Experience the Heart of Brooklyn, a program that targeted visitors through themed packages and itineraries to increase tourism to member institutions and Central Brooklyn. The HOB Trolley, launched in 2001 to shuttle visitors between member institutions expanded to assist residents underserved by the MTA and tourists from Manhattan to cultural and shopping destinations in Central Brooklyn.
By 2011, HOB had enrolled 4,000 children in BCAP, created 50,000 cross marketing brochures, provided 100,000 free trolley rides, and conducted 50 focus groups with 8,000 individuals surveyed. However, in 2013 funding challenges forced HOB to close their storefront office, terminate staff positions, and discontinue several programs. HOB never financially recovered and in 2015 the website was taken down as the process to dissolve the 501 (c)3 began. After a delay due to the Covid-19, HOB was officially closed in early 2023.
Arrangement
Series 1: Administrative Records is arranged in four sub-series by subject, with the exception of sub-series 1.4, which is separated by format. Folders are arranged in loose chronological order.
Series 2: Surveys and Reports is arranged in chronological order with the exception of the items in box 3 folder 7.
Series 3: Programs is arranged chronologically.
Series 4: Promotion is arranged chronologically.
See sub-series 1.4 for arrangement of digital records.
Scope and Contents
The Heart of Brooklyn records document the organization's activities from 1997 to their official closure in 2023. The bulk of this collection is born digital or digitized material, held on a hard drive and copied to the Center for Brooklyn History's server. See sub-series 1.4 for a full description.
Printed material includes early documents created before incorporation, including an exploratory report and business plan. Founding documents include paperwork filed to register Heart of Brooklyn as a 501(3)(c), charities registration, name registration, and SS-4 applications. Surveys and reports include data collected from member institution visitors and organizational assessments, achievements, and challenges.
Program materials include a draft plan and report to secure continued funding for Crown Heights Renaissance. The report outlines financial information, promotional examples, and letters of support. Experience the Heart of Brooklyn materials include brochures, clippings, calendars, and itineraries.
Subjects
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Some digital files are restricted due to personal identifying information. See sub-series 1.4 for a full description. Other materials open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Heart of Brooklyn records, CBHM.0024, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Denise McClean, 2023.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The hard drive in this collection is not available to researchers, file access will be provided on alternative hardware.
If digital surrogates exist, they should be used in place of the originals whenever possible.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Items were removed from original folders and binders and re housed in acid free folders. Folder titles in brackets were supplied by the archivist. The news clippings in this collection were photocopied onto archival paper and the originals discarded. Contents of the hard drive were copied to the Center for Brooklyn History Archived Digital Assets server.
Repository
Series 1: Administrative Records
Sub-series 1.1: Founding Documents
1023 and IRS Correspondence, 2001-2002, inclusive
Certificate of Incorporation Filing Receipt, 2001
501(3)(c) Correspondence, 2002-2006, inclusive
Certificate of Incorporation Paperwork, 2001
Tax Exempt Certification, 2002
Charities Registration Form, 2001-2002, inclusive
SS-4, 2 August 2001, 2001
SS-4 Application, 27 Feb 2001, 2001
Name Registration with Department of State, 2001
Incorporation Committee Resolution 4/21/01 Meeting, 2001
Davis Polk and Wardwell, 2001
Dun and Bradstreet, 2004
Employee Passport Card, 2009
[Embosser with Heart of Brooklyn Seal], circa 2001
Sub-series 1.2: Planning Documents
Brooklyn Cultural Consortium Planning, 1997-2003, inclusive
Business Plan for the Brooklyn Cultural Consortium, 2000
[Sign Location Planning Map], 1999
General
Map was removed from Brooklyn Cultural Consortium Planning binder in box 1, folders 14-16.
Strategic Plan, 2009-2011, inclusive
Sub-series 1.3: History
Heart of Brooklyn History, 2000-2011, 2011
Sub-series 1.4: Hard Drive
Scope and Contents
Heart of Brooklyn had no record retention policy. The files that appear in this sub-series are a copy of the organization's server at the time of their closing. The hard drive includes ten top-level folders with documents in the following file formats: .doc, .xls, .pdf, .jpeg, .psd, .ai, .tiff, .mov, .wav, .aup, .m4v, .tmp, .ppt. See below for a non-exhaustive summary of each top-level folder.
About HOB
Heart of Brooklyn closing documents, general information about boards, founding documents including certificate of incorporation and a tax exemption letter, a list of organizational accomplishments, business plan, budget, and member return on investment information.
Closing
Conference call minutes (2012-2013), financial and budget information, contacts, office equipment inventories, transition checklists, employee separation documents, closing statements. Includes restricted documents.
Commerical Revitalization
Certified financial statements (CFS), audits, quarterly reports, neighborhood scoping notes and proposals, budgets, applications, contracts, press, photos, Washington Avenue business inventory, financial statements, Washington Avenue demographic and income profiles, surveys, and Washington Avenue/Prospect Heights Association documents. Includes restricted documents.
Development
Audit information for fiscal years 2002-2012, lists of funders, lists of programs, board information, budget information, W-9s, boilerplate documents, evaluations, stats, information about current and possible donors, press releases, and meeting notes.
Dissolution 501(3)(C)
Dissolution paperwork filed with New York State and New York City, member articles of incorporation, signed affidavits, documents concerning the transfer of the Heart of Brooklyn archives to the Center for Brooklyn History, member financial statements, bank statements, fiscal year 2013-2022 documents, dissolution timeline, and meeting notes. Includes restricted documents.
General and Administrative
2011 annual meeting documents, board information, member trustee information, director meeting agendas and minutes, committee contact lists, financial documents, staff information, photo release forms, staff meeting agendas and notes, hiring and onboarding documents, HOB launch materials, and focus group promotional materials. Includes restricted documents.
Image Bank
Photographs include the Heart of Brooklyn 10th anniversary celebration, annual meetings, BCAP, economic development programs, trollies, visitors and events at member institutions, stock images, Brooklyn landmarks, wayfinding, and images for the website and social media.
IMLS
Coming Up Taller award documents, grant applications, Building Strong Community Networks documents.
Programs
Various government relations documents, social media graphics and analytics, print and digital marketing documents, contracts, agreements, and visitor survey materials. Also included is documents concerning various tourism programs (FAM Tour, Brooklyn Pass) promotional materials, partnerships, budgets, programs, research, itineraries, and reports.
Documents concerning various economic development programs including budgets, promotional materials, photographs, meeting notes, planning materials, contact lists, and surveys. BCAP camp and afterschool budgets, curriculums, photographs. Heart of Brooklyn Connection promotional materials, schedules, maps, signage, branding, reports, task force meeting notes and minutes. Employee Passport participant list, contracts, photographs, graphics. Jazz Brooklyn Beats promotional materials, budgets, funding information, photographs, meeting notes, and permits. Building Strong Community Networks materials including financials, meeting notes, funding information, research, graphics, reports. Includes restricted documents.
Support Materials
Logos, staff biographies, poster and brochure designs, presentations, press releases, style guides, and letterheads.
Conditions Governing Access
The following files are restricted due to sensitive personal information:
Closing-Staff
Commercial Revitalization - SBS 2013 - AvenueNYC Application - Contractual Paperwork
Dissolution 5013C - Patterson Belknap Invoices
General and Administrative - BPL Requested Items - Payroll
Programs - HOB Connections - Invoices - Thavma's Invoice
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The hard drive in this collection is not available to researchers, file access will be provided on alternative hardware.
