Here’s What’s Happening This Week In & Around Chelsea

West Side Community Fund Grant Applications / The Greater Good Series / The 13th Precinct Community Council / Bingo Night / Kids Week at The Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum / From 50 the Future: A Hip-Hop Exhibit at Chelsea Market / Apply to Serve on Your Manhattan Community Board  / Town Hall on the Impact of Casinos / Admiration: A Black History Month Panel Symposium

West Side Community Fund Grant Applications Accepted Through Friday, March 15 | The West Side Community Fund (WSCF) is a consortium of companies based on the west side of Manhattan who’ve found a common cause in their committent to financially support worthy initiatives based in Chelsea, Hudson Yards, and Hell’s Kitchen. Since its founding in 2018, WSCF has distributed over $925,000 in grants. Eligible applicants for their bi-annual grant program include neighborhood organizations, block and tenants’ associations, nonprofits, city agencies, schools, health clinics, NYCHA projects, police-community programs, religious institutions, and homeless facilities, as well as individuals who deliver services, such as teachers. WSCF grants prioritize projects serving youth, seniors, unhoused individuals, and disabled residents. The applicant as well as their proposed initiatives must be based in Chelsea, Hudson Yards, or Hell’s Kitchen; the applicant’s total annual budget must be below $15 Million; and grants cannot fund religious or partisan activities, nor programs that promote any form of discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or disability. Applications are due by Friday, March 15, and grant recipients will be announced in mid to late April. For more information—and to apply—visit westsidecommunityfund.org. To access our coverage of a celebration acknowledging 2023’s grantees, click here.

The Greater Good Series: Forums on February 20, 27, & March 5, 6pm Online via Zoom and at The People’s Forum (320 W. 37th St. btw. 8th & 9th Aves.) | Midtown South Community Council presents this Tuesday night series of lively conversations from health and housing advocates, economists, planning experts, engineers, community groups, concerned citizens, and elected officials. Feb. 20, The Rent is Too Damned High! is moderated by Ted Houghton (Former Executive Deputy Commissioner of NYS Homes and Community Renewal), with panelists including Vittoria Fariello (Democratic District Leader, Coalition for 100% Affordable WTC5) and Charlie Dulik (Housing Conservation Coordinators). Feb. 27, Saving Public Housing is moderated by Layla Law-Gisiko (Co-Chair, CB5 Land-use Committee), with panelists including Ramona Ferreyra (organizer and public housing advocate) and David J. Goldstein (CEO, Hydronic Shell Technologies). The series concludes on March 5 with Urbanizing for the People. It’s moderated by Sam Stein (Housing Policy Analyst for Community Service Society), with panelists including Rob Robinson (economics professor and Human Rights Activist), Sam Turvey (RethinkNYC, Empire Station Coalition), and Lynn Marie Lewis (educator and community organizer). To attend any or all of these events via Zoom, click here to register.

The 13th Precinct Community Council: Tuesday, February 20, 6pm at the 13th Precinct (230 E. 21st St.) | Held on the third Tuesday of the month—sans July, August, and December—the 13th Precinct Community Council provides a forum where the public can interact with police officers, detectives, and top leadership from the precinct tasked with protecting and serving a southern portion of Midtown Manhattan that includes swaths of easternmost Chelsea. Council President Serge Harnett moderates, fielding questions from attendees, as answered by top 13th Precinct leadership. Got questions? Submit them in writing before the meeting, via email, to Detective Vincent Arlotta (vincent.arlotta@nypd.org). These questions will be answered first. To visit the 13th Precinct online, click here.

Kids Week: Saturday, February 17 – Saturday, February 24 at The Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum (Pier 86 at West 46th Street)| Kids Week features programming including planetarium shows and a variety of displays and demonstrations from NASA. Learn about planetary missions, and explore Mars, Earth, and Exoplanet-themed exhibits. Kids will have an opportunity to meet a NASA astronaut and hear a firsthand account of life in space. This event is included with museum admission. To learn more, click here.

From 50 to The Future: An Art Exhibit On View Through Mid-March, at Chelsea Market (W.15th St. & Ninth Ave.) | Life-sized mixed-media paintings of influential, iconic hip-hop artists such as Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, and The Notorious BIG—and other biggies—populate this art exhibit all along the main concourse of Chelsea Market. The show celebrates Hip-Hop culture, its pioneers, contemporary artists, and how the genre will continue to evolve in the future. Curated by Creative Director, Zaire Baptiste, “From 50 to The Future” features artwork from Renaissance artist Voodo Fe’, renowned street artist UnCutt Art (creator of the “Protect Yo Heart” movement), and Tyson Hall, an actor and visual artist whose artwork represents the future of Hip Hop artists and their cultural impact. Adding to the visual appeal, an immersive component recreates the performances of famous artists. This event takes placce along the Market’s main concourse, which makes it a free, at-your-own pace event.

Through Friday, February 23, Applications Accepted to Join Your Local Manhattan Community Board | Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine has opened Community Board applications at this link. For our recently published news item providing more details about the application process, click here. Note: Chelsea Community News recently conducted a Q&A with Jessica Chait, the new Chair of Manhattan Community Board 4. To read it, click here. Among our questions: “What should potential applicants know about the challenges and rewards of this volunteer position?” To see what it really takes to serve, click here and click here to visit, respectively, the YouTube channels of Manhattan Community Board 4 and Manhattan Community Board 5. There, you’ll find recordings of past committee and full board meetings, where the months-long (sometimes years-long) process of bringing a topic from first discussion to hard-won fruition has been preserved in Internet amber, accessible to you and yours 24/7/365. To visit, respectively, the CB4 and CB5 websites, click here and click here.

Listing Lifted Wholesale from NYC Council Member Gale A. Brewer’s Excellent Newsletter | Thursday, 2/22, 6:30–8:30 pm, Virtual:  Town Hall on The Impact of Casinos on Urban Communities sponsored by State Sen. Liz Kruger and Brad Hoylman Sigal. Learn about the casino siting process, the fiscal and economic impacts of gaming institutions, and their impact on individuals, businesses, and the surrounding community. RSVP at the link. NOTE: Each week, Council Member Gale A. Brewer distributes a newsletter to keep you informed about ongoing projects, upcoming events, and ways to get involved in the District 6 community. CLICK HERE and complete the form to have the newsletter sent right to your inbox!

Admiration: A Black History Month Panel Symposium on Thursday, February 29, 6:30-8pm in the Living Room space at Pier 57 (25 11th Ave. at W. 15th St.; ground floor of the Pier’s southern edge) | Moderated by celebrity stylist Stacey Ciceron and curated by Tanya Weddemire Gallery, this empowering event features panelists Guy Stanley Philoche, Serron Green, Voodo Fe and Zaire Baptise, who will share their insights on black culture and history through their captivating art. To register for this free event, click here.

—event listings compiled by Scott Stiffler

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