The Research and Policy Initiative of the Community Development Project of the Urban Justice Center draws from participatory-action research methodology to provide assistance to community organizing groups working in low-income, largely immigrant communities and communities of color throughout New York City. CDP provides methodological and technical assistance in research and policy to help strengthen and further the strategic development and implementation of partners’ organizing campaigns. Although the community members and organizations are often well aware of the issues and problems in their communities, participatory-action research provides an important framework and concrete tools to help systematically document their experience, deepen their analysis and strategically inform their efforts to affect positive social change. Moreover, through the incorporation of a race, class and gender analysis, our research and policy efforts seek to expose issues related to and the impact of systemic discrimination and disparity of low-income and immigrant communities, and bolster the development of solutions coming from the experience, perspective and leadership of those communities.

"2010 Research and Policy Initiative Update," June 2010

"2009 Research and Policy Update," February 2010

Assistance Provided

• Development, design and implementation of participatory research initiatives linked to strategic programming, campaigns and policy efforts;
• Background research and literature reviews;
• Policy research and analysis;
• Design of research tools, including surveys and interview guides;
• Training of staff and membership in participatory research methods;
• Assistance in the implementation of surveys and interviews;
• Development of databases;
• Quantitative and qualitative data analysis;
• Production of reports and other materials to be used for program development, organizing and advocacy;
• Media support;
• Public policy and advocacy support; and
• Assistance in the development of programmatic, organizing and policy-oriented strategies stemming from research.

Current Partnerships and Projects — Winter/Spring 2010

Health and Workers' Rights

• 9/11 Health Impact Project
  CDP is currently partnering with the Beyond Ground Zero network (BGZ) following the October release of the "We Count!" report to provide ongoing legislative advocacy assistance and policy support. The report and continuing project highlight the shortcomings of the New York City EHC system in treating the diseases brought on by 9/11 and advocates areas in which to improve treatment. The ongoing follow-up work is concentrating on the James Zadroga Act (currently in the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health): both on retaining the Act's current provision for a treatment program for community members and on amending the Act to expand the list of diseases that are related to 9/11 while also expanding the EHC-qualifying geographic area so everyone affected will be able to be treated for their 9/11-related afflictions.
  "We Count! Documenting the 9/11 Health Crisis 8 Years Later," September 2009
• Syringe Access Report
  CDP provided policy research and analysis support to help produce the New York City AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN)’s report, "Stuck in the System: Expanding Syringe Access by Reconciling the Penal Code with the Public Health Law" which was released on Friday, January 29, 2010. The report documents the experiences of participants in syringe access programs who have undergone police harassment and arrests for lawful syringe possession. CDP also developed vital policy recommendations that will increase the effectiveness of syringe exchange programs, and improve public health and safety in New York City and State.
  "Stuck in the System," January 29, 2010
• South Asian Workers' Rights Project
  In partnership with Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), CDP is currently coordinating a research project on the experiences of undocumented South Asian workers in Jackson Heights, Queens, particularly taxi drivers, domestic, construction, restaurant and retail workers. CDP is provided support to DRUM in developing a community survey and a focus group guide to document the stories and experiences of undocumented South Asian workers and to identify the issue areas and sectors most in need of organizing and advocacy. This research will be compiled into a report set to be completed in the Spring or Summer of 2010.

Anti-gentrification and Equitable Development

• East River Waterfront Development
  As a member of this alliance, made up of Chinatown and Lower East Side community organizations concerned about the impact of development on the increasing pressures of gentrification in their neighborhoods (including CAAAV, GOLES, LES Ecology Center and University Settlement), CDP is providing strategic research, policy, legal and land use assistance in order to ensure that the development of the East River Waterfront is based in deep community-led planning and will be responsive to the needs of its residents in the short and long term.
  "A People's Plan for the East River Waterfront," October 2009 (A report by the O.U.R. Waterfront Coalition)
• Right to the City National and New York City Research Projects
  Right to the City (RTTC) is a national organization with chapters in eight different cities. As part of the New York City coalition, CDP provided research and writing support to develop RTTC-NYC’s platform. The platform was released earlier this year and unifies the demands of the RTTC-NYC member groups related to community development, gentrification and displacement. Also as part of the New York City coalition, CDP is coordinating a city wide research project to document the problem of vacant condos’ throughout New York City. CDP is also currently providing research and writing support for an upcoming RTTC national report on public housing.

  "NYC Preliminary Findings for Condo Canvass Research," November 2009

  "Right to the City Policy Platform 2009," Right to the City, July 16, 2009

• Downtown Brooklyn Development
  CDP provides research support to Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE) to carry out policy analysis and community-based research, including community surveys and focus groups, with diverse community stakeholders that will serve as the basis of an alternative community vision and plan for development of this community, which is going through rapid transformation as a result of rezoning. Specifically, CDP is assisting FUREE in the documentation of impact of the plan on small businesses and area public housing residents.

  "Food Fight: Expanding Access to Affordable and Healthy Food," December 12, 2009

  "Out of Business: The Crisis of Small Businesses in Rezoned Downtown Brooklyn," July 31, 2008

• Mekong Community Center
  In an ongoing effort to help the Committee Against Asian-American Violence (CAAAV) create the Mekong Community Center in the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx for the neighborhood’s Cambodian and Vietnamese residents, CDP is helping CAAAV conduct research to determine the needs and priorities of the community. The community center will be an integral part of the ongoing effort to organize a sustainable Southeast Asian (SEA) community in the Bronx and the larger New York City metropolitan area.

Environmental Justice

• Green Jobs Research Project
  Mothers on the Move (MOM), a grassroots organization in the South Bronx, is working with CDP to conduct research for a report on expanding green jobs programs in the South Bronx. CDP worked with MOM to create a community survey and focus group guide for this project and is continuing to provide research and writing support. The report is set to be completed in the Spring of 2010.

Connecting Research to Social Justice Organizing and Advocacy City-wide

• New York City Research and Organizing Initiative
  CDP is a founding member and currently houses and facilitates the New York City Research and Organizing Initiative (NYCROI), a city-wide collaborative project that was formed out of the identified need of numerous local organizations for an on-going space for discussion, training, and resource development and exchange in order to strategically generate research that supports specific campaigns and a broader social justice agenda in New York City and beyond. NYCROI is working on developing a curriculum for organizers and members of grassroots organizations focusing on developing research for social change. The curriculum should be complete by the Spring or Summer of 2010.

  "About the NYC Research and Organizing Initiative," November 2009

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