How does it happen that a 30-year-old organization like the respected Center for the Urban Environment, a non-profit, closes its doors suddenly and lays off its staff without any warning to the public it serves?
It sure brings up a lot of questions.
30-years ago, the Center for the Urban Environment was founded by John Muir as the Prospect
Park Environmental
Center. Until just over a year ago it was located in the Tennis House in the park. Last year the group renovated and moved into a LEED-Gold eligible building in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn.
Last week they closed their doors and let their staff go. Very suddenly. In a press release they sent out the day after, the organization's board claims that the closure was due to funding delays and short falls.
private sources. And we have just
completed a complex capital project,” explained Charlotte Gemmel, Chairperson
of CUE’s Board of Directors. “While we
had hoped to be able to restructure and maintain CUE at a smaller scale, the
enormity of the challenge before us led to this very difficult decision.”
I can well understand that an expensive renovation and move into a new building and the current economic climate, which has affected funding and philanthropy, could create fiscal problems for a non-profit but why was there no attempt to reach out to the community to save CUE?
Were local politicians and city officials notified about the impending loss of a valuable local resource?
Was there anything city or state government could have done to help this organization survive its economic travails?
Were their problems so deep that no one could help them? And what were these problems?
Through the years CUE provided programs for school children in the environmental sciences and urban and natural
environments. There were also programs for charter high schools and special programs related to environmental education issues and practical training.
For the community, the group sponsored weekend tours of neighborhoods and historic sites, organized kayaking trips in the Gowanus, and public events like
GreenBrooklyn. The Sustainable Business Alliance – a growing network in support of local businesses — was also an important project of the CUE.
Interestingly, Bob Guskind on Gowanus Lounge interviewed Sandi Franklin, who ran CUE since 2001, on the occasion of its 30th anniversary last November. Ironically, he asked her: "Where do you see CUE ten years from now?"
Franklin: Ten years is a long way out. But in the upcoming
decade, we’ll make use of technological advancements in order to reach
more urbanities—not just New Yorkers—with our products and services.
There are so many great initiatives across the city and country, one of
the principal challenges of the next decade will be working to connect
all of them meaningfully and practically.
Go to Gowanus Lounge to see the rest of the interview.
sad… i remember going to the green bike tour they setup last year. I was hoping to go again this year, but i guess not. This is very sad.