Northwest Bronx Collaborative is Cooking
The Northwest Bronx Collaborative hosted a Memorial Day Barbecue for the senior citizens and handicapped residents of 5 affordable housing projects in our northwest Bronx community. The seniors and party-goers enjoyed a great afternoon of tasty barbecue, raffles, games, music and dancing thanks to the shared efforts of the three groups that are members of the newly formed collaborative. The event, hosted on the beautiful, lush grounds of Serviam Gardens, provided an opportunity for socializing for the residents of Msgr. Fiorentino Apartments, Rose Hill Apartments, Edison Arms, West Farms and Serviam Gardens – combined these complexes (4 out of 5 exclusively for seniors) have over 1,000 units.
The three groups that comprise the Northwest Bronx Collaborative – Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation (FBHC), University Neighborhood Housing Program (UNHP), and Fordham Bedford Community Services (FBCS) each have a development, management or social service role in the 5 buildings as well as a long and cooperative history working to improve the neighborhoods of the Northwest Bronx. Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation is the developer and manager of Serviam Gardens, and developed Edison Arms. UNHP and FBHC supervised the redevelopment of West Farms, and FBHC acts as manager for this 526 unit, 8 building complex. FBCS provides adult education, computer lab training, and a range of services both to the community and on-site at Serviam Gardens. Rosehill Management, another neighborhood partner, manages and provides social services to Rose Hill Apartments, Msgr. Fiorentino Apartments and Edison Arms Apartments.
Working together with neighborhood residents for over 30 years, FBHC, FBCS and UNHP have created affordable decent housing, improved our neighborhoods, enriched our community and grown in size and expertise. FBHC is the largest community-sponsored housing corporation in New York City and a citywide leader in housing development. UNHP is Northwest Bronx-focused with broad-reaching significance through its city-wide initiatives to identify distressed multifamily properties, research emerging housing issues and organize around public and private policies that impact affordability. FBCS has grown from exclusively providing children’s services to a wide range of community services for seniors, adults and immigrants - over 500 Northwest Bronx residents have become US citizens through its programs. The Northwest Bronx Collaborative developed, renovated and/or owns 132 buildings, and provide homes to 10,367 residents and direct services to 4,219 more.
The barbecue social for seniors is just the start of what we hope will be many Collaborative initiatives to bring together and benefit our Northwest Bronx community. The Collaborative is planning a financial education workshop for seniors and the residents of West Farms over the summer as well as shared financial education and adult education programs in the fall.
