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Youth Leadership Council

Spring 2026—Central Harlem

Street Lab offers weekend leadership programs for NYC high school students that engage youth in the development and activation of public spaces in their neighborhoods.

In Spring 2026, Street Lab is partnering with the A. Philip Randolph Square Neighborhood Alliance (APRSNA), the J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures at City College, and the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, to offer a leadership program focused on Central Harlem. The program has created a Youth Leadership Council of high school students, that will help to share and shape APRSNA’s vision to reconnect the community through a pedestrian-centered greenway along Saint Nicholas Avenue, once known as “Harlem Lane.” Over eight Saturdays, students are documenting neighborhood conditions, gathering  community input, and activating the St. Nicholas Avenue Open Street (at 116th St) to test ideas that respond to immediate needs while demonstrating the potential of a future greenway.

This collaboration is made possible by an Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to the Bond Center, APRSNA, and the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, and the grant is also funding the Bond Center to facilitate design and visioning elements of APRSNA’s Harlem Lane project. The program is led by Street Lab’s Youth Education Manager Dondo Zakheim with Jahlik Parkes of JAH-P Design serving as lead instructor.

Read more about our other Youth Engagement Programs and get involved!

Photo: Matthew Bowman

Youth Leadership Council, Spring 2026—Central Harlem

Who it’s for

Participants are NYC high school students selected through an application process that prioritized students who reside in or attend school in Harlem, and who demonstrated enthusiasm for civic involvement in the neighborhood.

Program Overview

The program includes a total of eight sessions (30 total hours) held on Saturdays in April-June which feature:

  • Workshops that include meetings with stakeholders, field trips, and hands-on activities involving observation and reflection. During these workshops, Street Lab staff will also train students to lead public space activations on their own.
  • On-street community engagement pop-ups led by the students, which start a conversation with the public about the areas around Saint Nicholas Ave and public space generally in Harlem, in partnership with APRSNA.
  • A final project that allows students to share their observations from the street and provide recommendations based on community feedback. They will also have the opportunity to share and present their work to elected officials and their staff.

 

What youth will get

  • $300 stipend on successfully completing the program
  • Lunch or snack on meeting days
  • An opportunity to build skills and make connections with local groups, government entities, and other stakeholders working to improve the neighborhood
  • An opportunity to explore diverse careers in urban planning, design, creative placemaking and community-based nonprofits
  • a real-world improvement project that they executed in their own neighborhood
  • a unique extracurricular commitment to highlight on college applications
  • opportunities to apply for future employment as Street Lab Program Staff

Jahlik Parkes is an architectural/urban designer, educator, and woodworker based in New York City and serves as the lead instructor of this program. Jahlik is the founder of JAH-P Design LLC and graduate of Columbia GSAPP and Howard University.

Additional support for this program has been provided by the Happold Foundation.

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Apply now for a weekend leadership opportunity for youth in Harlem. Rolling admissions—new deadline March 15! High School students will help to share and shape a community vision for a greenway along Saint Nicholas Avenue, once known as “Harlem Lane.” Saturdays in April and May.