South Bronx: Over 15 community organizations doing work in the South Bronx and several individuals representing themselves met at La Resurrección United Methodist Church located at 158th Street and Elton Avenue to form a broad based organization that can unite on common issues and defend the rights of the South Bronx community.
The organizations forming part of this historic organization range from housing advocacy groups like Pueblo En Marcha, Nos Quedamos and some Tenant Organizations to community gardens, to broad based coalitions like 4 The South Bronx Coalition fighting to make the NY Yankees accountable to their promises.
“This is the first time that I have seen in the last 35 years that we have the opportunity to unite in a broad based way and unite on issues that affect all of us,” stated Maximino Rivera, Chairman of Pueblo En Marcha and one of the founders of the movement.
The purpose of the organization is to try and bring as many South Bronx organizations and activist that are interested in uniting in a broad based organization like a Community Congress that would be able to share resources and help promote each other and support each others issues.
The South Bronx is ready for this type of movement, “we don’t intend to duplicate any organizations work, but on the contrary support their work and unite to lend each other the broad based support required to get the attention and respect required to bring effective change,” stated another of the founders, Julio Muñoz.
There is no doubt that the South Bronx is ripe and needs this type of organization, something similar like the Northwest Bronx Clergy & Community Coalition in the upper Bronx that have been quite effective in defending the rights of the organization in that area of the Bronx. This organization is credited for stopping the development of the Kingsbridge Armory Mall something that the community did not want unless the developers guaranteed certain wages and benefits to the community, something that they refused to do, thus the project was stopped.
“If we would have had a similar organization in the South Bronx, the developers who put up the new mall on the site of the old terminal Market by 149th Street and the NY Yankees new stadium would have never been able to take advantage of the community with so many broken promises the way that they did with those sweetheart agreements,” stated Anita Antonetty, another founder and community resident.
The organizers are clear that this has to be an organization that focuses on the South Bronx comprising up Community 1,2 and 4. This area of the Bronx has historically had the distinction of being the poorest congressional district in the country. “Why are we still the poorest community, we have intelligent people, we have people with degrees and people who care about the community?” asked another person present.
The fact is that the South Bronx community has some of the worst statistics facing any urban community in the country, but it also has some of the most corrupt elected officials who have historically put their personal and political ambitions before their constituents. Others have actually been so arrogant as to believe that they are the true leaders instead of an elected “representative” of a community that has many community leaders without any cohesion.
For example other than Councilwoman Helen Foster, there has not been any elected official that has questioned the NY Yankees on the 25% jobs, or 25% contracts that they promised during the construction phase. Though they Yankees have bragged how they met and surpassed those numbers they have never produced any documents, or lists to prove it. However, if you take an informal poll of any part of the community surrounding the stadium and ask anyone if they have worked, or knew of any or their neighbors that received any job, or contract from the Yankees you would be hard pressed to find anyone that can claim they did, or know of any neighbor that has benefited from the massive $1.3 billion dollar city subsidized project.
Similar allegations and concerns have been raised about the Gateway Mall several blocks south of the old stadium. Nancy Guzman, a resident at Walton Ave and 153rd Street located in between the new stadium and the Mall stated, “it’s like if this community did not exist. These projects get built here. We are inconvenienced by the construction and afterwards by the traffic and all the issues related to the large numbers of people coming through this community. What did we residents get from it? Nothing and where were our so-called elected leaders, no-where?” Every elected official who claims to represent the South Bronx community should hide in shame for allowing this to happen.
Unfortunately some of these elected officials representing the South Bronx are either extremely dysfunctional, opportunist or blind. For example not one elected official has yet to be heard, or question the integrity of any of the community benefits agreements signed by both the Gateway Mall Developers and the NY Yankees. Though most have been quiet on the subject, one has actually had the audacity to state that she saw no problems at all. Councilwomen Maria Del Carmen Arroyo was recently heard to say, “the Yankees have kept all the promises they made, I have no problems with the Yankees.” It’s a shame that an elected official in the South Bronx can be so detached from the very people that they are supposed to represent. If that statement would have been made public prior to the citywide elections and Mickey Mouse would have run against Arroyo just promoting what she was heard to say, Ms. Arroyo would be collecting unemployment today.
Despite the poverty and problems and lack of true elected leadership in the South Bronx, the news of so many community activists coming together is a sign of positive things to come. If this effort to unite and create a South Bronx Congress can be achieved, the South Bronx will finally begin to come up from the shadows and despair of the many who have knowingly taken advantage of this community and perhaps like the Jewish community the South Bronx can say: “Never Again!”
The next meeting of the organization will take place on Feb 13th at 12:30 to 3:30pm at the Resurrección United Methodist Church located on 158th St and Elton Ave.
For more information call 718-993-0909
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