The Five Boro Story Project is an initiative that produces events to showcase stories and art inspired by the neighborhoods of New York City. Our free, hyper-localized public programs create opportunities for New Yorkers to connect to our neighborhoods and our neighbors through stories, song, poetry, dance, film, and discussion about the places where we live. The programs aim to strengthen community connections, preserve personal history, challenge negative perceptions of the outer boroughs and marginalized areas, and celebrate the diverse neighborhoods of NYC.
Five Boro Story Project Mission
The Five Boro Story Project is committed to strengthening civic engagement, preserving local history, and boosting pride in New York City neighborhoods through community storytelling programs.
Our Story
Inspired by her grandparents’ and parents’ stories about the old neighborhood, her love of New York City, and belief in the power of storytelling to connect people, Queens native Bridget Bartolini founded the Five Boro Story Project to create a platform for unheard stories of the city.
We travel throughout the five boroughs coordinating community celebrations that spotlight different neighborhoods and invite people to share their own stories and art through open mics and story circles. To make each event a fitting tribute to the neighborhood, Bridget collaborates with incredible people and organizations that are deeply rooted in the neighborhood and community. The Five Boro Story Project launched in Spring 2013 with the five-part series “I’m Tawkin’ Here: Storytelling with a New Yawk Accent,” a collaboration with storyteller, author and performer Michele Carlo; and filmmaker Heather Quinlan (creator of the definitive documentary on the New York accent, “If These Knishes Could Talk”). We’ve been lucky enough to partner with Samantha Inniss and Art, Food & Soul, the Laundromat Project Create Change Fellows, the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, Queens Poet Laureate Paolo Javier and Audrey Dimola, Word Up Community Bookshop and Eric Vetter, the Bronx Literary Festival, and other dynamic New Yorkers.
Since launching, the Five Boro Story Project has brought New Yorkers together for neighborhood celebrations in Gowanus, Harlem, Long Island City, Jamaica, Park Slope, Stapleton, the South Bronx, Washington Heights, and more. We hope to come soon to a neighborhood near you!
