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One of New York City’s Most Impactful Human Services Organizations, Rising Ground Is Now Located in the City That It Supports

Rising Ground announced as we entered 2020 that it is relocating its administrative offices from Yonkers to Downtown Brooklyn, adding 200 jobs to the borough’s commercial center. Rising Ground is an award-winning human services organization and a leader in children and family services in New York City. Its new headquarters at 151 Lawrence Street will be easily accessible by public transportation and closer to the not-for-profit organization’s many New York City-based programs, and its regulatory and community partners.

“As one of the most impactful human services organizations in New York City that primarily supports New York City children, families, and adults, we wanted to be right here in downtown Brooklyn, one of the best places to be,” explained CEO Alan Mucatel. “The buzz, energy, and booming commercial activity here contribute to a dynamic workplace. It will increase productivity, attract staff, and help us make better use of our space.”

The new administrative hub is located at 151 Lawrence Street, where Edwin Gould Services has been housed as well as Rising Ground’s Family Foster Care and Adoption Family Services. The 30,000-square-foot space, to be built out by next summer, will feature a sizable training suite, 20 large and small meeting rooms, and a medical suite. Approximately 200 staff members will be based at the new administrative hub. The entire organization, which operates more than 55 programs and has 1,900 employees, will come to Brooklyn to use the training suite.

There will be space for 267 staff members. Nearly 20 percent of the desks at 151 Lawrence will be unassigned and used as needed by field workers, such as case planners and staff members who travel from program to program. Rising Ground already has set aside unassigned desks for drop-ins by employees at its East Bronx Family Services Center hub at 1529-35 Williamsbridge Road. This summer, the concept will be expanded to the Yonkers site, whose official name is the Leake & Watts Campus, at 463 Hawthorne Avenue.

Creating a Bright and Modern Space

Rising Ground has hired the award-winning, Brooklyn-based LUBRANO CIAVARRA Architects to renovate the Brooklyn headquarters. The space will feature new open workstations and shared lounge seating to facilitate collaboration among programs and staff. “A combination of white and neutral toned finishes, paired with pops of color, will create a bright and modern space for the Rising Ground community,” explained Lea Ciavarra, a principal at LUBRANO CIAVARRA Architects.

Mucatel said the move to Brooklyn exemplifies Rising Ground’s commitment to continually improve its operation and supports.

“As we approach our 190th anniversary next year, we continue to do what we’ve always done: adapt our approaches and practices to meet the evolving needs of the people we support,” said Mucatel. “We are maximizing the efficiency of our real estate assets while enhancing the efficacy of our organization. We’re making a positive move that will benefit the 25,000 children, individuals and families we support as well as the nearly 1,900 people we employ.”

About LUBRRANO CIAVARRA Architects

For over twenty years, the women-owned Brooklyn-based boutique studio of LUBRANO CIAVARRA Architects has offered a full range of architectural and design services in the residential, cultural, hospitality and non-profit sectors. At both the public and private scale, the firm strives for conceptual clarity in each detail to create meaning for the people who will ultimately occupy their spaces. The firm's method of design and thinking is not one driven by personal agenda or ego, but rather is one based on collaboration and synthesis.