A Canarsie resident has opened his own restaurant through an entrepreneurship program for public housing residents.

Lancelot Brown lives at the Breukelen Houses in Canarsie. He was eligible to apply for an entrepreneurship program for public housing residents known as Food Business Pathways. After graduating from the program, he opened his own restaurant called Jamaica Grill Jerk Center.

The program is run by Small Business Services, the New York City Housing Authority and City Community Development. The program helps NYCHA tenants start businesses in the food industry. Those accepted into the program get 10 weeks of training with Small Business Services, as well as grants to pay for all of their licensing and lawyers to help establish their businesses.

In 2015, 80 individuals graduated from the program and 67 businesses have started thus far.