New York City has the largest Jewish population of any American city. Now and throughout its history, NYC has been home to people from every place in the world. That diversity has created a thriving, busy, and ambitious culture where you can find something to do (or eat) 24/7. There is simultaneously endless opportunity for culture, connection, and community while having the space for you to carve your own path. The city is located on the ancestral homeland of the Munsee-Lenape people.
Our New York Corps Members live in Brooklyn, the city’s most populous borough. With over 2.7 million residents, Brooklyn is larger than Boston, Atlanta, Washington DC & Minneapolis combined! With hundreds of acres of green space, over 700 arts & culture organizations, and a rich history, we’re proud to call Brooklyn Avodah’s home.
Jewish Service Corps Members turn their passion into action by serving in cities across the country at local organizations doing critical economic justice work at the community level. In a large city like New York, our Corps Members serve a wide range of justice issue areas from housing insecurity and healthcare to immigration rights and youth programming at organizations across the five boroughs.
Placements can change year to year, but check out the organizations our Corps Members are currently serving:
Swipe to see all placements
Climate and Environmental Justice
Immigration and Refugee Resettlement
Education and Youth Development
LGTBQIA+ Advocacy and Services
Immigration and Refugee Resettlement
LGTBQIA+ Advocacy and Services
LGTBQIA+ Advocacy and Services
Education and Youth Development
Immigration & Refugee Resettlement
Gender-based violence
Healthcare
Food Insecurity
In each city, Avodah provides a fully furnished, rent-free, communal home where Corps Members work collectively to form communities where everyone can have their needs met, their authentic selves are seen, and their growth pushed in loving ways. Learn more about living communally in the Service Corps.
This year, the New York bayit features 11 single bedrooms, 2 double bedrooms, and 6 bathrooms across 2 apartment units.
New York Corps Members live together in the neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, colloquially known as Bed-Stuy (pronounced bed-sty). In this beautiful and historic neighborhood you’ll find a close-knit community with a thriving arts scene, food from around the world, and escapades like turning puddles into goldfish ponds. When you become a Corps Member, you’ll join a long list of changemaking Bed-Stuy residents like Senator Shirley Chisholm, Elsie Richardson, Hattie Carthan, Max Roach, June Jordan, Spike Lee, Yasiin Bey, and many more.
Nearest Public Transportation
B44, B48, and the B52 busses; the G, A, and C lines (trains). It’s about 35 minutes via public transit to downtown Brooklyn or 50 minutes to Midtown Manhattan.
Driving & Parking
While you can get pretty much anywhere using New York’s expansive public transit system, there is street parking available near the bayit. It’s about 25 minutes via car to downtown Brooklyn or 45 minutes to Midtown Manhattan.
If you have a lot of energy and are proactive, you’ll likely thrive in NYC! Yes, New York is notoriously expensive to live in. But, with your basic living expenses covered by Avodah and an abundance of free or low-cost activities to enjoy, you’ll be able to take advantage of the city’s rich cultural scene throughout your Service Corps year.
New York City also serves as the headquarters for nonprofits and charitable, governmental, and justice-oriented organizations of every size. By doing the Jewish Service Corps in NYC, you’ll begin to build a robust network of colleagues who will support you throughout your career in social justice, whether you want to learn more about scrappy grassroots teams or globally known institutions.
Looking for green space? With more than 1,700 parks in the city to choose from, there are many options beyond the famous Central Park. Some of our favorites include Prospect Park, Herbert Von King Park, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Highline, and Brooklyn Promenade.
Corps Members meet regularly with Program Directors who are happy to share their local knowledge and recommendations! If you have a NYC-specific question, you can reach New York Program Director, Mandy at nyc@avodah.net.
Grab a coffee from Playground or pastries at Clementine Bakery
See a show at C’mon Everybody, a queer-owned bar and live arts space
Spend a day on the beach at Coney Island, complete with carnival rides and a dip in the Atlantic.
NYC has many different active Jewish communities and activities. These range from the very traditional to the more radical and interpretive. Some congregations and groups include:
Congregations
• Prospect Heights Shul (Modern Orthodox)
• Brooklyn Shabbat Kodesh (Non-Denominational)
• Kolot Chayeinu (Non-Denominational)
• Lab/Shul (Non-Denominational, experimental, and God-optional)
• Congregation Beth Elohim (Reform)
• Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (Historically queer and non-denominational)
• Alt Shul (Traditional Egalitarian)
• Atara Minyan (Traditional Egalitarian)
• Mishkan Minyan (Traditional Egalitarian)
• Park Slope Jewish Center (Traditional Egalitarian)
• Shir Hamaalot (Traditional Egalitarian)
• Romenu (Experiential spiritual center)
• Chabad (There are many local Chabads in the area. 770 Eastern Parkway is the world headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement)
Community Organizations
• Ammud: empowers Jews of Color by providing community and personalized support to gather and learn unchallenged in their Jewishness.
• Brooklyn Jews (BK Jews): hosts events for young Brooklynites related to “art, text, politics, food, and ritual.”
• Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ): organizes Jewish New Yorkers with neighbors and allies to transform New York from a playground for the wealthy few into a real democracy for all of us.
• Keshet works for the full equality of all LGBTQ Jews and our families in Jewish life.
• OneTable provides financial and programmatic resources for Shabbat Dinners.
• Moishe House NYC host peer-led social gatherings for people in their 20s & 30s
Every year, Jewish Service Corps Members put their values into action, serving at organizations doing critical justice work in Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, and Washington, D.C. At Avodah, we believe in the power and importance of developing deep, authentic...
Avodah provides its Jewish Service Corps Members with a house, a program, and a framework for building Jewish community together. But what they actually build inside it—the specific relationships, the trust, all the good that comes out of a group of people living in a...
In a moment when everything feels binary, Mackey came to the Avodah Jewish Justice Fellowship looking for something different—a space to sit with discomfort, explore nuance, and reconnect with his Jewish identity in a meaningful way.
