Resilience Building in Action

Brownsville, Brooklyn, NYC

Small Business Climate Resilience Corridor

RCC’s Neighborhood Small Business Climate Resilience Program accelerates climate resilience projects along small business corridors in 12 neighborhoods around the world. In New York City, we’re partnering with the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) and the Department of Small Business Services (SBS) to support resilience efforts in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and Corona, Queens.

In Brownsville, RCC is working alongside MOCEJ, SBS, and the Pitkin Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) to transform Pitkin Avenue into a climate-resilient, thriving commercial corridor. Together, we’re co-designing and delivering integrated streetscape improvements, targeted small business support and preparedness, and community-centered public space activations that strengthen the corridor’s resilience to extreme heat and flooding.

Shaped by deep community and small business engagement, cross-agency collaboration, and an iterative co-design process, these approaches uplift and strengthen local businesses, enhance public spaces, and build broader neighborhood resilience. This pilot demonstrates how locally grounded climate action can inform scalable solutions — creating a model for resilient, welcoming, and vibrant corridors across New York City and beyond.