HDC is thrilled to have kicked off the second year of our National Register Support for Historic Communities of Color Fellowship!
This fellowship, made possible by a generous grant from the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, allows us to hire two fellows, Eileen Michaud and Dana DeBari, who will document the Expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Once the Historic District is added to the National Register, homeowners can apply for historic tax credits for restoration work they may do on their properties.
HDC is proud to work with the Bedford Stuyvesant Preservation Coalition and advocates in Bed-Stuy on the campaign. Bed-Stuy was one of our first Six to Celebrate partners in 2011 and the Stuyvesant Heights Expanded Historic District was designated in 2013 by the LPC.
This year, we are thrilled to welcome our National Register Support Fellows into the neighborhood. Learn more about Eileen and Dana!
Left: Eileen Michaud, Right: Dana DeBari
Eileen Michaud is currently a graduate student in Historic Preservation at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Eileen moved to New York after receiving a M.S. in Urban Planning and Policy at Northeastern University and worked for three years as an urban planner for the City of Boston. During her time in Boston, Eileen project managed the first formally adopted Small Area Plan to bring more housing opportunities and encourage community-led place-making in historic Roslindale Square, and contributed to the development of several transportation, zoning, and land use plans.
Eileen is looking forward to applying her skills in community-engaged research at HDC to leverage historic fabric as a vehicle for affirming community identity and belonging. She lives in Brooklyn Heights.
Dana DeBari is an urban planning graduate student at Hunter College. While serving as Chief of Staff of a legislative committee in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Dana shaped several statewide historic preservation policies and programs. She also helped secure grant funding for local preservation organizations in New Bedford, Massachusetts. More recently, Dana was deeply involved in the development of Northeastern University’s proposal for the Center for Climate Solutions competition on Governors Island here in New York, which involved adaptive reuse and other preservation tools.
Dana is incredibly excited to serve as a National Register Support for Historic Communities of Color Fellow and help foster critical reinvestment opportunities throughout New York City. Dana holds a bachelor’s degree and a graduate certificate in Urban Analytics from Northeastern University. She resides in Bushwick.