named programs · 5 · from sources
What they call their work
Bike Fetish Day
Annual public event celebrating cycling culture in NYC. Features community participation, exhibitions, and activities centered on bicycles and urban mobility.
Collector’s Night
Annual event showcasing community collections and the archival work of NYC residents. Celebrates local collectors and their contributions to preserving the city’s material culture.
Havemeyer Sugar Sweets Festival
Annual neighborhood festival commemorating local history and community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Includes family-friendly activities, food, and cultural programming.
Miss Subways
Annual pageant event celebrating NYC's subway system, open to contestants of all gender identities. Features categories in costume, talent, and interview, judged by local celebrities. Revives and reimagines the historic 1941–1976 contest with inclusive, contemporary values.
Panorama Challenge
Annual trivia event held at the Queens Museum’s Panorama of the City of New York. Teams compete in NYC-themed categories such as urban history, viral moments, and Broadway. Now in its 15th year, it draws top trivia enthusiasts and fosters civic knowledge.
activities · 5 groups
What they do
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Curated Art Exhibitions and Public Displays 1 activity
- Curating rotating and temporary exhibitionsOrganizes rotating and temporary exhibitions that highlight community collections and underrepresented stories of New York City, such as 'Intimate Portrait: Profile of a Mid-Century Manhattan Creative Couple' (April–October 2025) and the COVID Material Culture Museum. Exhibitions include public opening and closing receptions, online supplementary content like curator interviews, and volunteer-supported logistics.
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Community Festival & Event Production 1 activity
- Hosting annual cultural and performance-based eventsHosts annual public events including Collector’s Night, Bike Fetish Day, the Havemeyer Sugar Sweets Festival, a Statue of Liberty celebration with a costume contest, and the Panorama Challenge trivia event. Events are staffed by volunteers and include guest services, technical setup, and shuttle transportation for offsite events such as those held at the Queens Museum.
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Local History Museum Operations 1 activity
- Operating a community museum with public visiting hoursOperates a permanent storefront museum at 370 Metropolitan Avenue in Brooklyn, open to the public on weekends from noon to 6pm. Provides free admission and maintains permanent displays of New York City artifacts, including subway tokens, geological core samples, and architectural fragments.
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Art Appreciation and Public Engagement 1 activity
- Providing public programming with artists and curatorsHosts public programs featuring exhibiting artists and curators, including artist talks, live performances, and special events with themed drinks and raffle prizes of original artwork. These programs are part of rotating exhibitions and special events at the City Reliquary Museum.
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Uncategorized 2 activities
- Operating an audio-guided window display of NYC artifactsRan a public-facing window display with audio-guided tours of New York City artifacts starting in 2002, serving as an early public engagement format prior to the opening of the permanent storefront museum in 2006.
- Producing the Miss Subways pageantOrganizes and hosts the annual Miss Subways pageant, a performance-based event celebrating New York City subway culture, revived in 2017 and held annually with recent editions including Miss Subways 2026. Events feature creative acts such as puppetry, opera, drag, contortion, comedy, and original music, and are held at venues like Sideshows by the Seashore Theater in Coney Island.
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financials · form 990EZ · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$63K
Contributions & grants$2K2%
Program service revenue$34K55%
Investment income$60%
Other revenue$2K
expenses
Total expenses$81K
Program expenses—
Admin / overhead—
Fundraising—
Salaries & benefits$0
Grants paid out$0
balance sheet
Total assets$83K
Cash—
Investments—
Liabilities—
Net assets$83K
4 years on record · 2021–2024 · YoY revenue -30.5%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
board members · 6
- Ben Wigler — Director
- Bridget Foley — Director
- Eliana Ritts — Director
- Elizabeth Haines — Assistant Director
- Jacob Ford — Director
- Kyle Supley — Director
relationships · 12
Who they work with
- Coney Island USA Partner — Co-presented the Miss Subways 2026 event.
- Coney Island USA Partner — Co-presents the Miss Subways event at Sideshows by the Seashore Theater in Coney Island.
- Dave Herman Partner — Founder of the City Reliquary who participates in public artist talks.
- Donald and Eunice “Skid” Moffett Partner — Subject of the exhibition 'Intimate Portrait: Profile of a Mid-Century Manhattan Creative Couple'.
- Facebook Partner — Uses Facebook to share updated visitor information.
- Lee Berman Partner — Curator of the 'Intimate Portrait: Profile of a Mid-Century Manhattan Creative Couple' exhibition.
- Mark Quinlan Partner — Artist and bartender who creates specialty drinks and contributes artwork for exhibitions and event prizes.
- Michael Craig Tracy Partner — Exhibiting artist who participates in public talks and donates original artwork for event prizes.
- Miss Subways Partner — Collaborates on the Miss Subways contest as a cultural and civic event.
- Queens Museum Partner — Co-hosts the Panorama Challenge at the Queens Museum’s Panorama of the City of New York.
- Queens Museum Partner — Co-hosts the annual Panorama Challenge event.
- Square Partner — Uses Square for processing museum and event admissions, donations, and gift shop purchases.
strategies · 5
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Community-Engaged Museum Modelmethodology: community-engaged_museumBy integrating community-driven programming, curated exhibitions of local artifacts, and public participation in cultural events, we strengthen civic identity and connection to New York City's history because collective ownership of heritage fosters deeper engagement and inclusive belonging.
- Interactive Urban Learningmethodology: interactive-urban-learningBy using physical urban models like the Panorama as interactive game boards, we engage participants in urban history through experiential learning because gamified exploration increases retention and public interest in complex city systems.
- Participatory Cultural Revivalmethodology: participatory_cultural_revivalBy reimagining historical cultural formats like the Miss Subways pageant as inclusive, community-participatory performances, we deepen public connection to urban culture because reinterpreted traditions model equity and collective celebration.
- Story-Based Memory Preservationmethodology: community-memory-preservationBy collecting and exhibiting personal narratives of underrepresented cultural participants, we recover marginalized contributions to urban history because individual stories make broader historical movements relatable and visible.
- Volunteer-Powered Innovationmethodology: volunteer-led_project_innovationBy placing volunteers in leadership roles and inviting them to propose new initiatives, we foster program innovation and community investment because empowering local expertise increases ownership and creative capacity.