Pinned Down? Rise Up!

Making Policy Public

Pinned Down? Rise Up!

The Newtown Creek BOA

Technical Assistance

The Newtown Creek BOA

A Fair Chance

Making Policy Public

A Fair Chance

Blunt Conversations

Urban Investigations

Blunt Conversations

Power Trip

Urban Investigations

Power Trip

Pay Dirt

City Studies

Pay Dirt

Print Swept Up

In April 2016, the NYPD raided two Eastchester housing complexes in the Bronx and arrested 120 people. Despite descriptions as the “largest gang takedown in New York City history,” over half the arrestees were never even charged as gang members. How did this all happen? Criminal Conspiracy Laws—originally used to bring down organized crime like the mafia—are being used by NYPD to police youth and charge them with “gang involvement”, simply because of who they know. For many low-income teens of color, basic activities like having friends in one’s neighborhood, are used to justify arrest at alarming rates.

What are criminal conspiracy laws? What’s the NYPD gang database? How do these laws and police practices impact local communities?

In the summer of 2019, CUP collaborated with Teaching Artist Ro Garrido and students from the Red Hook Community Justice Center in Brooklyn to dig deep into criminal conspiracy laws and their impact on local community members, interview stakeholders working on the issue, and create art to show what they learned. The group teamed up with Designer Marcela Szwarc and created the booklet, Swept Up, to educate others and help them get involved in the issue.

Learn more about the project here!

Air it Out

City Studies

Air it Out

Rent, Rights, and Repairs

Public Access Design

Rent, Rights, and Repairs

Zoning It In...

Urban Investigations

Zoning It In...

I Got Arrested! Now What?

Making Policy Public

I Got Arrested! Now What?

Reclaim Your Worker Rights

Making Policy Public

Reclaim Your Worker Rights

Shine a Light on Your Utility Rights

Making Policy Public

Shine a Light on Your Utility Rights

Store Stories

City Studies

Store Stories

Seeking Sanctuary

Urban Investigations

Seeking Sanctuary