Chair Salaam questions OPHC on 7 on 7 series feedback and expansion plans

Can you tell us more about the Roosevelt Island 7 on 7 series and any initial feedback that you've received from the communities that are being served?

And has this project concluded or is engagement with these communities ongoing?

And are there plans to replicate the 7 on 7 model?

By working with any other transit corridors, or by replicating any other successful aspects of this particular series.

Yeah, thank you.

I'm very proud of the 707 programming.

The name is catchy, right?

707.

So we want to do five on the ones and 10 on the A's.

And, you know, one of the strengths of New York City is its diversity.

I think if you go into any train cart in New York City, you will find the wealth of New York City's diversity on any cart.

Sadly, no one speaks to each other.

So we have used the veins of the natural existing subway lines and bus routes to use those as connectors of communities, but more so to highlight.

That diversity, but also to bring those teams together.

The 707 project came about in a time when we saw heightened community disharmony along Roosevelt Avenue and different communities, you know, blaming each other for the street vending or whatever activities were happening.

So we saw

This is an opportunity to bring these communities together.

But more importantly, we wanted to bring communities who belong to one part of the world in one same room to build unity within that community.

For example, we brought together 12,000 people.

Southeast Asian communities in one room.

We brought together six different nations in one room for the East Asia.

We brought together almost like 10 different countries, people for the Southeast, for the South Asia community, Breaking Bread, Building Bond initiative.

These programs bring these communities together, first and foremost, to build belonging.

To say, here, we see you, we appreciate you, and we value you and all you bring to New York City.

This program is ongoing.

We have completed six of the seven, seven, not seven, six of them.

And the final one is going to be where we bring all the communities together in one culminating one and say, we are one Roosevelt Avenue.

We have heard positive things about this program in the sense where communities felt seen.

They felt respected.

They felt heard.

And more importantly, city government as a whole is coming to their doors where we are bringing resources and saying, hey, how can we serve you?

How can we make sure you feel seen, heard, and respected exactly as you are?

This is one of the priorities of this administration to make sure every New York City, and again, I'm thankful and I'm grateful for the Mayamam Dani's expansion by 800% in our office to make sure we can expand this program, of course, with staff as well, to every borough.

So we have five of these sessions happening all the time across the five boroughs.

Staten Island only has one train, but we'll find other routes as well.

Gotcha.