Excerpted from the story in Fast Company.

So when Ramos was approached during the peak of the outbreak about a new program to help underresourced neighborhoods hit hard by the pandemic, she immediately signed up. The program, which was created by nonprofits the Van Alen Institute and the Urban Design Forum, is called Neighborhoods Now. It pairs community organizations such as the 82nd Street Partnership with teams of architects and designers who work pro bono to help local businesses reopen and weather the current economic storm.