WHEDco is a community organiation that works on developing housing in the Bronx unique for its focus on women’s needs and holistic approach to community development–they aim to build neighborhoods, not just buildings.They have several branches: Community, Childcare, Small Business, and Culture (Bronx Music Heritage Center). NFor this reason, WHEDco is singular among community organizations.
Nancy Biberman helped found the organization in 1992. Biberman started as a low income housing attorney in the 80s. Under Mayor Koch’s initiative to rehabilitate abandoned or arsoned buildings, Biberman was in charge of developing 700 apartments in the Bronx. She realized that building a neighborhood or a community takes much more than developing apartments. Biberman is part of a long tradition of Bronx women activists such as Yolanda Garcia, Genevieve Brooks, Esperanza Martell, Evelina Lopez Antonetty, Lillian Lopez, and Elba Cabrera (among others).
The first development, Urban Horizons, opened in 1997. Biberman saw the abandoned Morrisania Hotel and thought it was the perfect location. WHEDco turned it into a multi-service center for women and their families.
Nancy Biberman, WHEDco’s founder, started as a low income housing attorney in the 80s. Urban Horizons’ closing in 1976 symbolized the devastation and blight of the Bronx in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, it is home 132 energy-efficient apartments, 39 of which are set aside for families coming out of New York City’s homeless shelter. Urban Horizons also houses the Early Childhood Discovery Center, The Home-based Childcare Training Institute, Family support services, a commercial kitchen, and a family health center.
Intervale Green opened in 2009 in Crotona Park East. The development is focused on sustainable, healthy living and includes a rooftop urban farm, green roofs, and tenant education on sustainability.
Now, WHEDco’s next project is the Bronx Commons. Bronx Commons will be the new home to the Bronx Music Heritage Foundation. Bronx commons is set to be an arts-based, mixed use development in Melrose. The development is part of Melrose Common’s Urban Renewal Plan–where The Departments of City Planning and Housing Preservation and Development work with Nos Quedamos to make sure they are representing community residents’ needs and concerns in the planning process. Biberman stated that the goal for building Bronx Commons is to create “an anchor, a real sort of crossroads of culture and commerce, and a destination.” Bronx Commons will be home to 305 affordable housing units, as well as the Bronx Music Hall, a landscaped public plaza, and a retail space. It is expected to be complete sometime in 2019.
Working with the BMHC, I’ve witnessed the wide range of programming and events put on through WHEDco. From classes, to performances, to exhibits, to shows, the BMHC accomodates all kinds of cultural events. However, because the space is fairly tight, and the sound and lighting aren’t the best, the center’s potential for events can sometimes be constrained. The BMHC is going to benefit from having a real theatre with seating, sound, lighting, and ample space for performances. I’ve seen how resourceful they’ve been with the space now, and I am so excited to see how future programming will pan out once Bronx Commons is realized.
But, the South Bronx is developing rapidly, and not everyone is as thrilled. Although WHEDco has garnered a reputation for consistently creating thoughtful, sustainable, community-centered affordable units, other developers may not have the same intentions. The South Bronx waterfront, in particular, is attracting a real estate boom, which is worrying residents about the future of affordability.
The NYTimes even called the South Bronx one of the top destinations that travelers should visit–citing artisanal coffee shops, galleries, and boutiques which alarmed and angered certain residents as most of these businesses had cropped up in the last 10 years. Mott Haven, Hunts Point, Morrisania, and Belmont were named to the Furman Center’s list of top gentrifying neighborhoods last year. The city has a $194 million plan to invest in infrastructure–adding bike lanes, a park, street lighting, and creating more housing– along the South Bronx waterfront on the Harlem River. Construction is set to start in 2019.
WHEDco has taught me that not all urban development is inherently bad or linked to gentrification. However, I’ve also come to understand that WHEDco is unique in their holistic approach to urban development in a way that few other developing organizations are. By working at the Bronx Music Heritage Center, I’ve learned that neighborhood development is a holistic process which includes interdependent branches. In order for communities to thrive, it’s important to provide spaces for culture. With the Bronx Commons, questions are raised about arts-based gentrification. But, there will also be a cultural center for residents to gather, interact, and learn more about local Bronx music and art.
Sources:
https://ny.curbed.com/2017/1/4/14168656/south-bronx-new-york-times-hot-travel-destinations
https://ny.curbed.com/2016/12/12/13925220/south-bronx-waterfront-infrastructure-development
https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/03/09/here-is-the-south-bronxs-1300-unit-gentrification-death-star/
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/09/nyregion/no-people-in-sight-yet-but-south-bronx-gets-ready-for-development.
http://whedco.org/green-homes/intervale-green/
http://whedco.org/green-homes/bronx-commons/
Another very good historical summary of the institutions and neighborhoods you are researching! Please give it another read-through and see if you can’t fix a couple of grammatical and syntax-related issues in the prose. I really like that you are clarifying the nuances of development in a way that does not necessitate valorizing preservation and excoriating developers. There is a lot to be said for development in communities that have lost housing and commercial stock — and there’s a lot to be said for preservation in communities that are at risk of displacement. But as much can be said against both development and preservation for equally valid reasons. What do you think BMHC would have to do to remain a community resource rather than an engine of displacement?