When the
Water Rises,
So Do We.
Part public art. Part neighborhood lab. All Brooklyn.
Rain Activated transforms sidewalks into storytelling canvases — revealing hidden messages that connect neighbors to tools, care, and resilience.
Rain Activated turns storms into stories — linking art, data, and design so residents can prepare long before the next drop falls.
💧 Learn the Story
📘 Download the Toolkit
🔥 Know your Risks
📩 Request a Stencil for Your Block
Flooding isn’t far away — it’s right here.
When water enters a home, it’s more than a drainage issue, it’s displacement, debt, and the quiet erasing of legacy potential.
90K
Almost 90,000 Brooklyn residents live at elevated flood risk.
1.3M
Across New York City, more than 1.3 million people sit inside a floodplain.
14 Lives
Almost 90,000 Brooklyn residents live at elevated flood risk.
Across New York City, more than 1.3 million people sit inside a floodplain.
In the last 20 years, 14 Brooklyn lives have been lost to flooding.
Born from
Rainproof.
Built by
BklVLUP.
Rain Activated began as part of Rebuild by Design’s Rainproof NYC program, a citywide initiative funding creative, community-led solutions to local flooding.
When another flash flood swept through East Flatbush — forcing families to choose between repairs, rent, and rest — BKLVLUP saw an opportunity to design something that could help before the next storm.
- What if the forecast wasn’t fear, but preparation?
- What if art could guide you through the storm?
- What if the forecast wasn’t fear, but preparation?
- What if art could guide you through the storm?
With Rainproof’s support, BKLVLUP partnered with FWD, a worker- and woman-owned landscape architecture and urban design cooperative, to turn imagination into action.
Together, we built a project that blends natural systems, hyperlocal data, and community science — transforming the way residents see and respond to water on their block.
Where art, data,
and design
meet the rain.
“All Water Has a Perfect Memory”
Rain Activated is an immersive, art-meets-action experience that makes resilience visible.
When it rains, hydrophobic paint stencils appear — revealing hidden messages that guide residents to real resources through QR codes and the Community Flooding Toolkit.
The Experience — Rain Activated, The Launch Event
When storms hit, our community doesn’t break — it builds.
Rain Activated is a living classroom for climate resilience — Our launch event for Rain Activated, an immersive walk through East Flatbush where art, data, and everyday expertise come alive.
Each stop reveals how neighbors, makers, and storytellers transform crisis into creativity.
Join Brooklyn Level Up (BKLVLUP) for the official launch of Rain Activated
Saturday, November 22, 2025 | 1–4 PM
My Time LLC, 640 Parkside Avenue,
Brooklyn, NY
Free with RSVP
Five stations
01. See the Risk
Explore how rain moves through our streets, drains, homes — and what happens when it doesn’t.
02. Hear the Stories
Listen to firsthand accounts from residents who’ve lived through floods — and share your own. Your story becomes part of a powering future action.
03. Map Your Block
Add your story, photo, or reflection to an interactive map — helping visualize where care and recovery are needed most.
04. Flood Response 101
Learn quick, practical steps for what to do when the water rises with the Community Flooding Toolkit.
05. Meet The Artisans
The local experts behind every act of resilience:
🧰 Plumbers & Electricians — waterproofing, rewiring, and rebuilding homes.
💧 Tech Creators & Data Mappers — tracking, alerting, and connecting communities in real time.
🌿 Designers & Growers — turning stormwater into gardens and green infrastructure.
🧑🏽🔧 Local Businesses & Makers — restoring what floods take and building back better.
We are painting the town Paige! Check back soon to see where she will appear.
We are painting the town Paige! Check back soon to see where she will appear.
Community Flood Toolkit
Crafted by our partner, FWD, The Community Flooding Toolkit is the heartbeat of Rain Activated — turns insight into action — giving residents, tenants, and homeowners the power to prepare before, during and after the storm.
Choose Your Lane
🏠 Homeowner Guide
Floodproofing, drainage, and repair checklists.
Floodproofing, drainage, and repair checklists.
🪴 Renter Guide
Renter rights, relocation, and recovery support.
Renter rights, relocation, and recovery support.
🌍 Full Toolkit
Community-wide resources, contacts, and advocacy tools.
Community-wide resources, contacts, and advocacy tools.
Every download helps expand this network of shared knowledge — ensuring that stories from today’s launch fuel tomorrow’s solutions.
Turning Data into Dignity. Art into Action.
When water enters a home, it’s not just a leak — it’s a life interrupted. Rain Activated reframes flood prevention as housing and climate justice, powered by the artisans who keep our neighborhoods alive.
Our Near Term Goals:
300+ residents engaged through activations and pop-ups
100+ community stories collected to inform advocacy and resources.
Hands-on flood response and data-mapping sessions.This is the heading
Partnerships creating green-jobs and artisan-training pathways.
Our Next Chapter:
Block-by-block resilience hubs.
Community-owned data networks.
A Neighorborhood Flood Mitigation Plan
Block-by-block resilience hubs.
Community-owned data networks.
A Neighorborhood Flood Mitigation Plan
This Is Where You Come In.
Join the movement to build a more flood-resilient Brooklyn.
Host a stencil, share your story, or bring Rain Activated to your block — every action adds strength to our collective blueprint for care and change.