In a borough that has changed faster than almost anywhere else in America over the past two decades — gentrification, displacement, rising rents, a pandemic — one organization has been a constant: Brooklyn Community Services. In 2026, BCS celebrates its 160th anniversary, making it one of the oldest continuously operating human services organizations in New York City. This Sunday, we’re telling their story.
Founded When Brooklyn Was a Different World
Brooklyn Community Services was founded in 1866 — the year after the Civil War ended, when the borough was a separate city from New York, and when the most pressing crisis was the wave of Union veterans, widows, and families left destitute by the war. Brooklyn’s business leaders, clergy, and philanthropists came together to create an organization that could address that immediate need. What they built turned out to be something that would last 160 years and counting.
BCS has been on the frontlines of every major crisis Brooklyn has faced since then. During the Great Depression, it nearly doubled the families it served. During the tuberculosis and influenza epidemics of the early 20th century, it mobilized to connect residents with care. After September 11, 2001, it provided relief and recovery services. After Superstorm Sandy in 2012, it deployed to Coney Island for long-term recovery. And through the COVID-19 pandemic, it kept its doors open.
That consistent presence through crisis after crisis is not an accident — it’s the product of an organization that has spent 160 years building relationships, infrastructure, and trust inside Brooklyn’s communities.
What BCS Does Today
Today, Brooklyn Community Services operates 50+ programs across 28 Brooklyn locations, serving more than 14,000 neighbors each year. The scope of work is sweeping.
On the education side, BCS runs early learning pre-K programs, afterschool enrichment, middle school services, and transfer high schools — alternative schools designed to serve students who have had difficulty in the traditional school system. Youth programs like the Gary Klinsky Afterschool Program (launched in 1987) and the Youth Stand Academy (launched in 2014) serve kids across the borough.
For families navigating crisis, BCS provides family therapy, workforce development, and community building services. For people experiencing homelessness, the organization operates transitional shelters and supportive housing. A mobile HIV testing program and a Mobile Shower Bus — a first-of-its-kind program launched in 2019 in partnership with then-Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams — extend services to people who can’t easily access fixed-location facilities.
And for people living with mental illness or developmental disabilities, BCS runs specialized programs designed to support community integration and independent living.
Where the Work Happens
BCS works across Brooklyn’s most economically vulnerable neighborhoods. Its 28 locations are spread from Brownsville to Coney Island to Crown Heights to Flatbush. The organization deliberately positioned itself in the communities most in need of its services, and 160 years later, it remains there even as surrounding neighborhoods have transformed around it.
In 2018, BCS broke ground on a new affordable housing project in Flatbush — a partnership with the Mutual Housing Association of New York and the Baptist Church of Redeemer, designed to house families, seniors, and women transitioning out of homelessness. Projects like this represent BCS’s evolution from direct service delivery to community development — an understanding that the most durable help is the kind that changes the conditions people live in.
How to Get Involved
BCS depends heavily on volunteers — the organization engages over 800 volunteers per year through one-time group projects and long-term service commitments. If you want to give time, they have a volunteer program that can match you with needs across their network of programs. Donations are also critical: BCS’s 2025 gala raised over $300,000 for the organization’s work.
For residents who need services — whether for a child, a family member in crisis, someone experiencing homelessness, or help finding a job — BCS’s network of 28 locations means there’s likely a program near you. The main office is reachable at (718) 310-5600 or wearebcs.org. The mailing address is PO Box 24630, Brooklyn, NY 11202.
In a borough that often celebrates its newcomers, it’s worth pausing to honor the institutions that never left — the ones that were here for the Civil War veterans and stayed for every crisis that came after. Brooklyn Community Services is one of those institutions, and 160 years in, it’s still fighting for the borough it has always called home.
What You Need to Know
- Brooklyn Community Services (BCS) was founded in 1866 and celebrates its 160th anniversary in 2026 — one of NYC’s oldest human services organizations.
- BCS operates 50+ programs across 28 Brooklyn locations serving more than 14,000 neighbors per year.
- Services span education, youth development, family support, homeless shelter, supportive housing, workforce development, and programs for people with disabilities.
- Over 800 volunteers help BCS deliver programs each year — you can sign up at wearebcs.org/take-action/volunteer.
- Phone: (718) 310-5600 | Email: info@wearebcs.org | Website: wearebcs.org
