Views from the Northwest Bronx

On June 15th, UNHP, over fifty guests and our panelists concluded our #ViewsNWBX blog series with breakfast, a presentation and discussion of the emerging community development and affordable housing issues raised in our locally-focused on-line essay series.

UNHP delivered our free financial and affordable housing services to 71 Bronx bank customers at six branches, attended the Grand Openings of three new Bronx bank branches and assisted 69 Bronxites at two off-site events in the past 5 months.

Great partnerships, dedicated volunteers, a range of on-site services and a commitment to professional, accurate, informative free tax preparation were the hallmarks of our 10th anniversary for this successful program serving over 1,400 low-income Bronx residents.

UNHP is sharing the northwest Bronx views of neighborhood residents, community leaders, Bronx community development professionals and UNHP board members.

UNHP is sharing the northwest Bronx views of neighborhood residents, community leaders, Bronx community development professionals and UNHP board members.

Views from the Northwest Bronx is a blog series aimed at framing an inclusive and informed discussion on issues affecting the affordability and viability of Northwest Bronx neighborhoods today. While the topics addressed in the series are by no means exhaustive, the data presented and analysis offered sheds light on many of the key issues.

The use of preferential rents—negotiated rents that are less than the legal rent— has become more prominent recently as an issue for tenants, in the news and in Bronx set-up sheets for multifamily building sales. In this piece, UNHP aims to discuss how preferential rents, once considered a benefit to tenants, could undermine the financial stability of multifamily buildings and its lenders as well as threaten the tenancy of Bronx residents - 70 percent of whom are already vulnerable to displacement.

The Bronx is under construction: cranes, excavators, scaffolding, and green demolition fences are everywhere. For long-time community staffers and residents in the northwest Bronx, the building and demolition we see as we walk to work, lunch, or the train is unprecedented.

The UNHP Building Indicator Project (BIP) is a database that leverages public data to gauge distress; it currently captures demographic data, housing and building code violations, and several city liens from municipal agencies for over 62,000 properties with five units or more in all five boroughs; amounting to a staggering 6.2 million data points. Still, more information is needed to ensure distressed buildings are identified and improved.

​Judi Kende, Vice President and New York Market Leader for Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., authored this post. Enterprise creates and preserves quality affordable homes, incubates programs, and scales these solutions through policy change.