!Revive! Port Richmond
!Revive! came out of a partnership between Northfield Community (Staten Island), NYC Department of Small Business Services and the School of Visual Arts in NYC. A team of graduate-level students created design-oriented solutions to address some of the community’s most pressing challenges.
Through on-site surveys, interviews, and visual assessments, the SVA design team (Bess, Ana, and Nathalia) recommended to create a model of improved store front visualization that builds off of the “Safe Zone” model from the NYPD. This concept encourages the use of inexpensive materials and easy steps to enhance storefronts. The goal is to bring people together, strengthen safety, and welcome shoppers.
The other students on my team were Nathalia Nogueira (from Brazil) and Ana Pérez Gil (from Mexico City).
We teamed up with a local organization (called EyeOpeners, Youth Against Violence) to get volunteers for the Revive! event. We had a blast getting to know each other, painting the storefront, and cleaning up the corridor.
Here is the before and after photograph of the specific store we worked with. The model business selected for the redesign was Mexico Supermarket on 170 Port Richmond Avenue, Staten Island. The event took place Saturday, August 13th 2011, from 2 to 6 pm.
