Who We Are

THE COMMONS is a radical movement-building space, only minutes from downtown Brooklyn. We provide resources which we hope will nurture our community. Groups and individuals are encouraged to use the COMMONS for workshops, classes, educational and cultural events. Everybody is accepted and valued without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, or religious background or expression. We reject racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry. Our goal is to foster discussion and dialogue across a wide political spectrum and among disparate groups. Classes and events hosted here do not necessarily reflect the COMMONS’ beliefs and values, other than our devotion to free speech. We believe that by providing space where all views, even those we oppose, can be presented, examined, and perhaps refuted, we are helping to build a more just and free society. The COMMONS offers affordable office and meeting spaces, as well as an event venue. We can host anything from parties and benefits to forums, performances, films, and workshops. Our café can offer light meals, desserts, fair-trade organic coffees, teas, wine, and beer during any event. If you are interested in meeting or event space, please contact us at .

RESIDENT ORGANIZATIONS include:

Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective

The Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective is a tight-knit community of professional filmmakers in Brooklyn, NY who are dedicated to innovative approaches to filmmaking. The collective comes together through weekly peer workshops to provide sustained feedback and critiques throughout the life of its members' projects. It is the mission of the BFC to inspire groundbreaking films and maximize exposure of the best work from Brooklyn-based filmmakers.

Families United for Racial and Economic Equality

Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE) is a Brooklyn-based multiracial organization made up of almost exclusively women of color. We organize low-income families to build power to change the system so that all people's work is valued and all of us have the right and economic means to decide and live out our own destinies.

Jacobin Magazine

Jacobin is a leading voice of the American left, offering socialist perspectives on politics, economics, and culture. The print magazine is released quarterly and reaches over 6,000 subscribers, in addition to a web audience of 300,000 a month.

Right to the City Alliance

Right to the City (RTTC) emerged in 2007 as a unified response to gentrification and a call to halt the displacement of low-income people, people of color, marginalized LGBTQ communities, and youths of color from their historic urban neighborhoods. We are a national alliance of racial, economic and environmental justice organizations. Through shared principles and a common frame and theory of change, RTTC is building a national movement for racial justice, urban justice, human rights, and democracy.

The Indypendent

Founded in 2000 as the print project of the New York City Independent Media Center, The Indypendent is a New York City-based free newspaper and online news site. We publish our print edition 13 times a year on Mondays. We also update our website daily and are active on Twitter and Facebook. We have a print and online audience of more than 100,000 readers. Winner of more than 50 awards from New York Community Media Alliance for excellence in journalism, The Indypendent is funded by subscriptions, reader donations, grants, house parties, merchandise sales and advertising. The newspaper is produced by a network of volunteers who report, write, edit, draw, design, take photos, distribute, fundraise and provide website management.

After the Brecht Forum closed, a few teachers and activists from the former Brecht Forum continued offering classes and forums in space rented from the Brooklyn Commons through the contributions of students. These efforts are now organized under the rubric of the Marxist Education Project. This work has enabled the continuation of study groups that have been ongoing (some for several years), the initiation of a few new classes and the maintenance of some important elements from the work of the NYMS/Brecht Forum.

WBAI Radio

WBAI is listener-supported radio. As a member of the Pacifica chain of radio stations, it provides a vast array of original programming to listeners in the Metropolitan New York City region and worldwide through its website.

Women's Hands Establishing Entrepreneurial Leadership Skills

WHEELS works with women mechanics to create and sustain green-certified cooperatives, where women own, operate and benefit from this nontraditional business. Full service automotive repair facilities, WHEELS is owned by trained and licensed mechanics.