A letter from Sterling World to our neighbors, our city and ourselves:
You may not know us.
We’re your neighbors.
We’re planting gardens and holding space for unity.
This is your invitation.
Every July, the Sterling World Block Association in Crown Heights comes together for a block party not just to celebrate, but to declare that joy, safety, and beauty belong to all of us. That’s why we choose the last Saturday of July — a date that holds powerful resonance whether you realize it or not.
The Crown Heights Riots occurred Aug. 19 – 21, 1991 — exactly three weeks after our annual gathering. That was three days of unrest; 21 days before that pain, we now place our joy.
Three days. Three weeks. Three chances to reframe the past through positive community action.
We don’t choose this weekend randomly.
We choose it to interrupt the cycle.
To replace tension with togetherness.
To create a living timeline of healing.
This year, Sterling Place lit up — not with fireworks or fanfare, but with purpose. We secured a bounce house through $425 in neighborhood donations. Local businesses donated supplies. We didn’t have the funds for a sound permit or food truck, but the people still came. The spirit still rose.
We ended the evening the way true neighbors do — with a broom and dustpan. I swept alone at first. A millennial sister walking by asked, “Can I help?” I smiled and told her, “Enjoy yourself. I got this.”
When I returned about an hour later, I saw her again — sweeping the parts I missed. No cameras. No credit. Just quiet care. That’s the neighborhood we’re building.
But let’s be real: getting this permit wasn’t easy. We were denied last year without fair notice. We were falsely accused of holding an unauthorized event. We were told we needed a new block ID, even though we’ve used the same one since 2024. We faced bureaucratic stonewalling, dismissiveness and outright lies.
And while we were being ignored, city-aligned nonprofits with no history of July 26 programming were suddenly green-lit to host events that same day. We see the pattern — and we’re calling it out with clarity and love.
We don’t have vans. We don’t have grants. We don’t have institutional favor.
But we have community. We have vision. We have receipts.
We’re not here to ask permission to be seen anymore. We’re here to plant roots, share truth, and build out loud.
If you’re watching from the sidelines — we see you. We welcome you. You’re already part of this.
Next year, we’re adding even more — including a “Stop the Violence” paintball competition (ages 18 and under), where strategy replaces conflict and joy replaces fear.
We are reclaiming space. Reclaiming process. Reclaiming the timeline.
The block is watching. And we’re building with intention.
Daryl Stephen is a Brooklyn resident and the president of the Sterling World Block Association.
