BSVAC in Action
NEIGHBORS CELEBRATE THEIR HEROES
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORPS HONORED FOR 37 YEARS OF SERVICE WITH A VIBRANT BLOCK PARTY – GREENE AVE. BETW. MARCUS GARVEY BLVD. & LEWIS AVE. By Pojanee Fleury On July 12, 2025, the Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps (BSVAC) marked their 37th anniversary with a block party that was full of excitement and joy! Held at the intersection of Greene Avenue and Marcus Garvey Boulevard, next to the now iconic site of the BSVAC command center, the event...
Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps gets the rights to their land
The change comes as part of a new bill that looks to create a multi-purpose community space. by Rob Flaks Aug 21, 2025, 11:36 AM After serving the Bedford-Stuyvesant community since 1988, the Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps (BSVAC) will now own the land its current location sits on at the intersection of Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Greene Avenue. The change comes as part of a new bill that looks to create a multi-purpose community space including the BSVAC on...
37th Year Celebration: We’ve Touched Lives
‘We’ve touched a lot of lives’: Bed-Stuy Volunteer Ambulance Corps prepares to celebrate 37 years of service By Kirstyn Brendlen The Bed-Stuy Volunteer Ambulance Service is celebrating its 37th anniversary this summer. Photo courtesy of Amy Dorfman/BSVAC In 1988, the year the Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps was founded, locals were regularly forced to wait for half an hour for an ambulance to arrive during a medical emergency. “Brooklyn in the 80s, it was the...
36th annual BSVAC block party renames street in honor of founder
Department officials joined New York City Mayor Eric Adams to rename the intersection of Greene Street and Marcus Garvey Avenue where the party was held in honor of the department's founding leader, James "Rocky" Robinson. Rob Flaks Jul 13, 2024 at 7:39 PM The Bedford Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps hosted its annual block party Saturday. Department officials joined New York City Mayor Eric Adams to rename the intersection of Greene Street and Marcus Garvey Avenue...
Brooklyn volunteer ambulance group battling back
Brooklyn volunteer ambulance group battling back after setbacks BY LORI CHUNG BROOKLYN PUBLISHED 6:00 AM ET MAR. 15, 2022 BROOKLYN, N.Y. — There’s no telling what the members of the Bed Stuy Volunteer Ambulance Corps will find on an emergency call, but each day, commanding officer Antoine Robinson says, they’re ready to step in. The all-volunteer group is battling back from the brink after the death of Robinson’s father, James Rocky Robinson in 2019, who founded the group...
First Responders Call for Help:
At top, historic photo shows the late Rocky Robinson, center, holding court surrounded by first responders he personally trained. Our Time Press Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance CorpsBattles Coronavirus Pandemic Antoine Robinson, 35, Commanding Officer of Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps (BSVAC) and heir to a legacy, appreciates the rounds of applause nightly at 7pm from New Yorkers who are saluting the first responders during the coronavirus pandemic. “I...
For Years, These First Responders Struggled for Community Support. Now, with COVID-19, They Need it More Than Ever
There was a time when emergency calls in Bed-Stuy went unanswered. The Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps was formed to answer the call. by Nigel Roberts May 26, 2020 in Bedford Stuyvesant, Covid-19, Featured News, Non-Profit & Community By now, we’ve all heard the stories of a 911 call center overwhelmed by emergency calls for help around the coronavirus. The truth is, emergency medical services and ambulances are struggling to keep up. Well, in some parts of...
Bed-Stuy’s Volunteer Ambulance Service Calls For Coronavirus Help
Matt Troutman | Patch•May 20, 2020 BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps was formed when few people stepped up to help the neighborhood — and even went out of their way to avoid it. Now, the historic, minority-run ambulance service needs a bit of help of its own as it navigates the new coronavirus pandemic. Funding has dwindled throughout the crisis, leaving the service in the lurch. "We need your help to be able to continue to fight...
State of Emergency
A firsthand look into life in New York City at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic CGTV America - Chinese TV At the start of April 2020 New York City was the most infected city on earth, with hundreds of thousands of residents suffering from COVID-19. As the city lays in quarantine, first responders and medical workers struggle to deal with the influx of cases, risking their own health amidst shortages of protective equipment as charities and volunteers work to mitigate the...
The Bed-Stuy Ambulance Corps Remains One of New York’s Forgotten Essential Workers
As COVID-19 has left many communities of color with little to no support, one volunteer ambulance service steps up BKReader by Kimberlean Donis April 30, 2020 in Bedford Stuyvesant, Covid-19, Featured News, Non-Profit & Community The Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps once was the lifeline of its community. Now more than ever, the minority-run service has ramped up its level of interaction with the community, despite its lack of resources, reports Patch....