FORT GREENE — City Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo is set to host her inauguration and swearing-in event at a community center affiliated with one of the city's public housing complexes, in what she says is a sign of her plans to improve conditions for those who live there.
Cumbo's event will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Ingersoll Community Center at 177 Myrtle Ave. The space is next door to the Ingersoll Houses, a New York City Housing Authority complex in her district with 20 buildings and more than 4,500 residents.
RSVPs are required in order to attend.
Cumbo said she chose the venue to show her commitment to improving conditions at the 35 Council District's public housing projects.
"Over the past few decades, NYCHA residents have often felt neglected so it was important for me to have it there so the residents know that they have not been forgotten," she said.
Cumbo, who founded Fort Greene's Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, also said the event was a chance for her to "build community and celebrate the diversity of the community through culture."
She is currently confirming performances by several cultural institutions and groups in the district and emphasized that both members of the Jewish community and the Caribbean community would be taking the stage at the event.
Last month, Cumbo came under fire when she claimed "knockout" attacks in the district may have been caused by racial tension between the neighborhood's black and Jewish communities. She later apologized for the remarks, saying, “I understand now that my words did not convey what was in my heart, which is a profound desire to bring our diverse communities closer together.”
