December 23, 2024 NEW YORK – Today, Coalition for the Homeless announced the recipient of the 9th annual Compassionate Communities Award: Floyd Bennett Field Neighbors (FBFN). This extraordinary organization is a mutual aid volunteer collective whose mission is to support the families and children living at Floyd Bennett Field – the decommissioned airfield on the southern edge of Brooklyn that has been used as a shelter for new arrivals. From the moment these families arrived in New York City in late 2023, Floyd Bennett Field Neighbors jumped to help, organizing clothing drives, providing valuable resources, including strollers and suitcases, and coordinating community events to bring neighbors and new arrivals together at the shelter. Floyd Bennett Field Neighbors also testified at New York City Council in opposition to harsh restrictions on new arrival families, such as a requirement that they vacate existing placements and reapply for shelter every 60 days. After the announcement in December 2024 that Floyd Bennett Field would close as a shelter facility, FBFN mobilized its 300 volunteers to help families safely transition to their new shelter assignments. The organization is advising the Mayor’s Office and NYC Health and Hospitals on how to protect these families through this transition. “We believe in upholding NYC’s status of being a sanctuary city and in protecting asylum-seeking families, especially when they are going through one of the most traumatic periods in their lives,” said Susie Jaramillo, a Floyd Bennett Field Neighbors CC member. “Welcoming them and helping them cover basic needs with dignity is the least we can do as good neighbors.” Coalition for the Homeless’ Compassionate Communities Award is presented annually to an organization that goes above and beyond in contributing to New York City’s homeless populations. The award celebrates initiatives working to provide every New Yorker with shelter, dignity, and respect.
