We Have A New Office! — A Glimpse Into Realty Collective And The Red Hook Market

Originally posted by Red Hook Star Revue

Broker Victoria Alexander opened Realty Collective in 2005, which has offices at 223 Columbia Street and 351 Van Brunt Street. While properties they represent can be found throughout Brooklyn, Realty Collective’s agents serve the needs of prospective buyers, sellers and renters for commercial and residential properties located in (but not limited to) Red Hook, Park Slope, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights and Gowanus. Those agents generally handle properties in their own neighborhoods, according to Realty Collective’s website.

Alexander works with a lot of properties located in Red Hook and the Columbia Street Waterfront District because she herself lives in Red Hook. She also serves as a member of Community Board 6, County Committee, Resilient Red Hook, the 24 Hour Plays and several other organizations. Her values are to help people navigate the decision-making process in the challenging and stressful NYC real estate market, whether that be inheriting a building or wanting to rent/buy a first apartment for example.

In 2018 Alexander found Cora Dance a new home on Van Brunt Street, and did real estate transactions with local non-profits like Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Center, Red Hook Initiative and Extreme Kids & Crew.

As someone who is pro-small business and pro-mixed-use neighborhood, Alexander said she’s always speaking up for what she thinks is in the best interest of Red Hook – noting it’s not just what the highest and best use for property could be, but what the highest and best value for creating an equitable and just city could be as well. She added that proposed ideas like the BQX and another subway could change the neighborhood – saying it could become another Williamsburg, at the mercy of big corporations and developers.

According to Alexander, it’s currently a good time to be both buying and selling because interest rates have dropped.

“I think in the rental market the prices have definitely come down – I would say 20% from what the rents were historically in Red Hook, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens,” she explained. “That’s been really great for tenants that are moving into the neighborhood; they have a lot more leverage.”

She said that the general Red Hook market seems to be oversaturated with overpriced properties listed at the moment.

“We’ve seen in the last year that properties have sat on the market for 6 to 12 months, not moved and prices have slowly come down,” Alexander said. “And that’s because of speculation.”

In terms of what the real estate market could look like down the road, Alexander believes we’re not going to be in a seller’s market as much in the next two years – rather, people will have more opportunities to rent and purchase.

INCLUDEnyc Voices speaks with Extreme Kids

KIDS WITH DISABILITIES SHOULDN’T HAVE TO FIT INTO SOCIETY’S MOLD

Originally posted by INCLUDEnyc

At the upcoming INCLUDEnyc Fair on Saturday, January 26, families can meet face-to-face with over 80 summer camps, afterschool, weekend, arts, sports, social, and recreational programs, including Extreme Kids and Crew, who offers weekend programs and summer camp to kids with disabilities.

Located in Red Hook and Ridgewood, Extreme Kids has weekend, weekly and monthly programs, including music classes, parent support groups and social clubs for girls and teens. During Open Play on Saturdays and Sundays in Red Hook and Saturdays in Ridgewood, kids can play in a sensory gym on play equipment that is normally reserved for therapy.

Many of these programs embrace the participation of families, encourage socializing, and help build community. “Extreme Kids is an open, welcoming place. We believe society can learn a lot from the children and families coming into our space. Kids with disabilities shouldn’t have to fit into society’s mold. Instead, classrooms and the broader community should be more open to neurodiversity,” says Executive Director Caitlin Cassaro.

Extreme Kids’ summer camp, based out of the Red Hook location, typically is for a small group with a 1:3 staff ratio for six weeks. Children enjoy field trips and participate in various activities, including art, music, dance and movement. “We want our summer camp to be accessible to those who need it, so we use a sliding scale and is completely free to eligible families,” Caitlin explained. This August, they will also present a two-week summer camp based out of the Ridgewood location designed for children with higher-needs.

Extreme Kids will be attending the upcoming INCLUDEnyc Fair. “The Fair has been valuable for us. We can reach new children and families and have the opportunity to connect with other partners,” Caitlin said.

To learn more about Extreme Kids, visit www.extremekidsandcrew.org or swing by their table on January 26th.

- Carly Wolff

Jan 19 + 20 - No Red Hook Programs

Red Hook Space will be closed this weekend due to a facilities issue at P.S. 15. If you signed up for Girls Crew, we will be in touch at another time about rescheduling. For Open Play and MusicWorks, we will see you next week.

Non-profit Spotlight - The Woolfer

For many of us the end-of-the-year is a time of giving, and to that end we’re here profiling three Woolfers doing extraordinary good in the world.

Learn more about the great work of Caitlin Cassaro with Extreme Kids & Crew, Dana Marlowe with I Support the Girls, and Jen Losey James with Crisis Text Hotline — find out how you can get involved, too!

Can you tell us what Extreme Kids & Crew is and how it works, how you support your population? Extreme Kids & Crew provides play-spaces for children with disabilities and their families. We were founded with a simple concept in mind: to be a safe, fun and judgement-free zone for the whole family. Play is vital to every child’s development, but when you spend two hours commuting to school and there are an unending number of provider visits (doctors, therapists, etc.), it can be hard to find time to have fun as family.

We provide inclusive arts and play programs to children with any disability and/or neurological differences, and their siblings, their friends and their caregivers are welcomed and encouraged to join. We host weekend classes, open play in our sensory gym, special events throughout the city, caregiver meet-ups and workshops, and after-school and summer camps. Our programs are free and we work hard to connect with families who are living in underserved areas of NYC. We are the place that the families whom are often discriminated against can come and relax, meet other families in similar situations, and where the children can be themselves and develop a sense of self-worth and confidence in their abilities.

How long have you worked there and how did you get started?
Like many families, I discovered Extreme Kids shortly after my second child was diagnosed with autism. Until age two Shane was called “a good baby” for his lack of need, but he had begun randomly falling out of chairs, running into walls, and complaining that the bright sun was too “loud.” Our beautiful, once-cheerful boy was no longer a child most parents wanted at birthday parties or playdates. The usual sibling strife became extreme and near impossible to navigate. 

As Shane changed, my husband and I became stressed out, worried, confused, and lonely. Whether or not this was self-imposed or the result of our friends pulling away isn’t clear to me, but the feelings of isolation we felt became overwhelming. 

In a desperate search for something I wasn’t even sure existed, I came across Eliza Factor online. In an open letter, she wrote about her experiences with her beautiful disabled son and two beautiful non-disabled daughters. Her letter made me cry loud, body-rocking, choking sobs. It was not about “oh how sad it is that my son is different,” but more like “all my kids are wonderful, why can’t we join the party? Where can we BE?!” I didn’t realize at the time how deeply essential a sense of community is for everyone’s well-being. Hmm, I wonder if any Woolfers know what I mean?… ha ha.

I contacted Eliza and she immediately replied. Turns out there was this little space she called Extreme Kids & Crew and they had gatherings every weekend. We went. Of course, we went! This little room with big pillows and padded floors immediately became so much more. At Extreme Kids, Shane had fun. His sister had fun. We all had fun together! Kids and other adults played with him while we sat and collected ourselves. I cried again, but this time happy tears. Extreme Kids made me feel like it was going to be OK, and that we were not alone. So what if Shane flapped and yelled and ran around the room crashing into, luckily, padded walls. We had found our community.

I started volunteering, helping to create a financial file and put some systems in place, all non-interesting aspects of running a little start up, except they are interesting to me. I was, at the time, the CFO for Friends of Firefighters (a nonprofit offering private support and therapy to members of the FDNY). Prior to that, I created a little freelance business helping start-ups and nonprofits put the behind-the-scenes systems in functioning order so that the amazing founders would be free to continue growing their vision (and not worrying about, for instance, payroll tax or annual audits.

In the spring of 2013, I interviewed for the job of Executive Director/COO of Extreme Kids & Crew. The organization was growing and turning into a business, something Eliza was not interested in managing. The word went out that a search was on and I happily threw my hat in the ring. I stepped into the role of Executive Director during the time I facilitated moving the organization into PS 15 in Red Hook. The past six years have been amazing. I have never loved a job like I love this one.

continue reading on The Woolfer

Autism Awareness PSA on WFUV

Autism Awareness

WFUV is a National Public Radio affiliate station based in New York City. WFUV features a quarterly Public Service Campaign called “Strike a Chord.” Their goal is to spotlight issues important to communities throughout the Tri-State area, from the environment, to health care, to veterans affairs. Their focus this season is "autism awareness." By focusing on a specific issue each quarter, WFUV hopes to make a big difference in raising awareness about important matters, getting people more involved in their communities and simply letting people know help is out there. 

:05 My name is Leigh Reid and I'm the director of development and communications at Extreme Kids & Crew.

:11 At Extreme Kids and Crew we cultivate welcoming, accessible spaces where kids with disabilities and their crew create a supportive community through the arts, play and conversation.

:24 At an average playground there can be a lot of bigotry and fear about disability. When you provide a space that is not just open to having differences, but encourages people to be who they are when they come in, that makes a happier child, and that happier child will become a happier adult and more well-adjusted.

[Infographic] Spring Campaign Impact Report

View the 2018 Spring Campaign Impact Report as a .pdf

Extreme Kids & Crew is a community leader and change-maker in accessible play programs for children with disabilities and their families. We provide free and low cost, arts and play programs year round in Brooklyn and Queens. Our work – including parent and caregiver workshops, family play and classes, and drop-off after school and summer camp experiences – are all possible because of donors like you. Our families thank you for partnering with Extreme Kids to sustain and grow needed disability centered programming in NYC.