Views from the Northwest Bronx

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.

​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.

Sheila Garcia, Deputy Director at Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA), authored this post, with contributions from UNHP staff. CASA’s mission is to protect and maintain affordable and safe housing through collective action. The Bronx Coalition for a Community Vision believes rezoning and development on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx is possible without displacement, if guided by four principles: real affordable housing, real community engagement, union jobs and local hire, and strong anti-harassment and anti-displacement policies.

Mayor Bill de Blasio recently released a plan for tackling the rise in homelessness in New York City. While the City’s shift in approach may manage to reset expectations and encourage communities to shoulder their fair share of shelter housing, it glosses over the high concentration of homeless housing in low-income communities, especially in the northwest Bronx.

​The history of community development in the Bronx offers many lessons on the crucial importance of the deep involvement of community members in charting a path forward for their own communities.

UNHP assisted 1,422 households file their taxes for free this year. 2016 was our 9th tax season and one of the great privileges of offering this service has been able to work with people over the years. Meet three of our returning clients, Nicole, Elle and Patricia.

Warm temperatures and sunshine encouraged thirty-four prospective first-time homebuyers to pursue their dream of homeownership by attending the UNHP Homebuyer Expo at Refuge House on Saturday, April 16.

UNHP's Free Tax Preparation Program is in its 9th season and still growing and improving thanks to new partners, increased volunteer efforts and enhanced on-site services.