Meet The 'Community Heroes' To Be Featured In Fort Greene Park

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — A new kind of public art installation has taken hold in Fort Greene and will return for its second year next month, featuring six new "community heroes" that have made a difference in their neighborhood.

The Community Heroes project, started last summer, honors residents with portraits of them taken by local photographers and featured in Fort Greene and Commodore Barry Park. So far, it has told the stories of 37 Brooklynites and will return to honor another six in July.

Its goal is to not only bring attention to the stories of locals doing good, but to inspire newer residents how to become "owners" and not just "renters" of the neighborhood, one of the project's leaders Zac Martin said.

"The goal of the project has grown to become a way to celebrate the everyday heroes of New York City," Martin said. "These heroes are residents who have taken it upon themselves to organize for good in the neighborhood...By showcasing a diverse roster of heroes, we hope to cross-pollinate and strengthen the good work each is doing."

Martin said that although Community Heroes has grown into a yearly tradition, it really began with a simple conversation at an annual Memorial Day barbecue.

Organizers of the project were talking with Victoria Amoo, who hosts the annual barbecue in Fort Greene Park called "Peacefest," about how there should be a way to honor Fort Greene residents, who like her, were working to make the neighborhood a better place.

The idea for Community Heroes started shortly after and honored its first five people, a group of graduating high school seniors. Its first full group of heroes have been on display since last summer.

Heroes are chosen, Martin said, through an extensive outreach process that lets residents nominate people through physical ballots or on the Community Heroes website. The project leaders try to make sure that people from all areas of the community know about them so that they can get a diverse group of heroes submitted, with a focus on often overlooked populations, like seniors and NYCHA residents, Martin said.

"The heroes are not simply chosen because of the number of nominations, but also through the strength and beauty of the story being shared about the person nominated," Martin said.

Once heroes are chosen, they are paired with a local photographer and will have their portraits taken. The portraits will be displayed along with writings about their stories.

Here's a glimpse into the six heroes that whose portraits will go up in July:

Deb Howard

Howard moved to Brooklyn in the 1970s in a touring rock opera. She brought her experience as an organizer and AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer to the neighborhood by becoming a tenant organizer with the Pratt Area Community Council, now IMPACCT Brooklyn. Over the years, she has organized tenants through the collapse of the co-op market and founded a citywide task force against contractors who were taking advantage of senior homeowners. She has developed supportive housing and renovated city-owned buildings into affordable housing. She has educated residents to speak out against lead paint poisoning leading to the passage of Local Law One, trained first-time home buyers, counseled homeowners facing foreclosure and initiated the formation of FAB Alliance supporting a healthy business corridor among many other initiatives.

Preston Riddick

Riddick has been a member of the Fort Greene community for five decades. He can be spotted at the top of Fort Greene park training individual seekers in the ways of kung fu and knowledge of self. In the early 1970s Riddick started the Indoda Entsha Cultural Program on Washington Avenue inside St. Luke’s Church. The program eventually moved to other locations in the area, St Mary’s Church on Willoughby Avenue and Cadman Memorial Church on Lafayette Avenue, and ended circa 2012. For many years, Riddick was also a member of the Alonzo Players, purportedly the longest running repertoire in Brooklyn, based out of the Masonic Temple on Lafayette Avenue. All of Riddick’s interests have morphed into his current project the Resura Arkestra, a 10 piece orchestra that infuses traditional West African and Latin rhythms, Jazz, and a touch of spoken word.

Eric Frazier

Frazier was a school principal and lifelong educator before being diagnosed with cancer. Once he was healed, he began to write books and playing and recording music. In 2000, he released the #1 jazz CD in America. In July 2010, he founded the Fort Greene Park Jazz Festival bringing live jazz and world class musicians to the park a few times a year. Frazier also organizes jam sessions around the city and produces a show for BRIC TV called “Cultural Spectrums & Jazz Pearls.”

Moshood

Moshood has run his boutique at 698 Fulton Street for 25 years. Moshood’s timeless pieces bring together the traditional beauty of Afrikan tailoring and a taste of western flavor. The name MOSHOOD/Afrikan spirit has become synonymous with a style that personifies the “spirit” of Afrikan pride, and his designs have been embraced around the world.

Dr. Yvrose Pierre
Pierre is a mom to a daughter with a hearing impairment, principal at P.S. K753 - School for Career Development, district supervisor and advocate for students with special needs.
She was born in Haiti to a family that prioritized education, hard work and raised by her immigrant family in the Brooklyn public education system. Now with multiple degrees and a doctorate, Pierre knows the in’s and outs of the education system, regulations, policies and laws and works hard to make them work well and fairly for students in special education.

Brother James

James Roberts, who died in 2018, would walk throughout the streets of Brooklyn and Harlem with his staph carved of wood. The handle for him to grab as he took each step was the symbol of the Egyptian UNK. He greeted everyone with “Huru on the Arising,” which means arise and shine for the glory of god is upon you. A gifted artist, he was a playwright, poet and storyteller as an active member of the Harlem Uptown Playwrights. Brother James was an active member of the executive board of the Atlantic Terminal Tenant’s Association. As Vice President, he co-created and curated African American History month. His other accomplishments include: Play-writing collaboration with University Settlement Share Performance Project, Founding Member of the Intergenerational Community Arts Council (ICAC); Congo Square Drummers; Future Historical Society.