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CONTACT: Allison Manuel | 917-213-6028 | allison@ourbronx.org
Our Bronx launches 2026 borough-wide agenda at 52nd Annual Meeting, building on historic wins for community ownership, good jobs, and climate resilience
Over 200 Bronx residents, elected officials, and partners gathered to highlight landmark Kingsbridge Armory agreements, the Bronx’s first federally certified Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), and 2026 priorities including the SAFER Homes Act and New York Health Act
Bronx, NY (March 4, 2026) – At its 52nd Annual Meeting—Our Bronx: For Us, By Us, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) announced its new organizational name and identity - Our Bronx - marking the organization’s borough-wide expansion and deepened commitment to building power for racial justice and economic democracy across the Bronx.
“Our Bronx is what we’ve been building toward for more than 50 years,” said Sandra Lobo, Executive Director of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, now Our Bronx.” From tenant organizing and community land trust work, to shaping borough-wide economic strategy, to setting new standards for what development must deliver, we’ve proven that when Bronx communities organize, we can win real power, real accountability, and real ownership. The Kingsbridge Armory agreements, our growing community land trust pipeline, and the Bronx CEDS are all part of the same story: we are building the infrastructure for economic democracy. As Our Bronx, we are stepping into our next phase, expanding borough-wide, deepening cross-sector partnerships, and scaling models that keep our people here, create family-sustaining jobs, and put decision-making in community hands - for us, by us.”
More than 200 community members, faith and labor partners, and elected officials gathered to celebrate major 2025 milestones, including an unprecedented package of agreements at the Kingsbridge Armory: a development agreement and legally-binding community benefits agreement (CBA) that together secured a 20% community ownership stake, commitments to community space, affordable commercial and manufacturing space, strong environmental sustainability standards, and family-sustaining jobs. Signed by 32 Bronx institutions, the CBA is a crowning achievement in a campaign spanning three decades to deliver a community-driven future for the Armory.
A core theme of the evening was the power of long-term, cross-sector partnerships, which Lobo and others credited for recent victories including the passage of the Construction Justice Act, advanced by a broad coalition of labor, community, and faith organizations. The bipartisan bill, championed in the Bronx by Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, Laborers Local 79, and Our Bronx, set a $40-per hour compensation standard for workers on city-funded affordable housing projects. Under the standard, at least $25 per hour must be dedicated to wages, with the balance available for wages, healthcare, or other benefits.
“The Construction Justice Act matters because it helps ensure workers receive a dignified wage and strong benefits so the jobs that build our city can actually sustain a family,” said Karla Cruz, Executive Director of Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust (LECET). “For almost a decade, we have worked with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition to build a strong borough-wide ecosystem that supports workers and their families to thrive. Thanks to our shared vision, partnership and persistence, we reached historic victories that will deliver good jobs, real accountability, and development that does not leave our communities behind. We are excited for the leadership NWBCCC will continue to bring borough-wide as Our Bronx, to build on these wins for the future of our people and our City.”
Our Bronx first announced its borough-wide expansion at its 50th Anniversary Gala, alongside its merger with the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative. The merger brings together more than five decades of organizing with deep planning and development expertise, strengthening a vehicle for long-term economic transformation in the borough.
That integration has helped catalyze major initiatives, including Our Bronx’s collaboration with the Bronx Economic Development Corporation (BXEDC) to create the borough’s first federally-certified Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). In 2025, Our Bronx, BXEDC, and the Bronx-wide Coalition gathered input from more than 700 Bronx residents, workers, and small business owners to shape the plan, which will help channel investment and institutional decision-making toward shared ownership, quality jobs, and environmental resilience. In 2026, partners will continue soliciting public feedback to finalize the Bronx CEDS and unveil it at the Bronx Economic Development Summit on June 5th and 6th.
“For years, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition has been laying the groundwork for long-term support of economic growth and opportunities for the Bronx, and this Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy provides an important analysis of the borough that will identify strategies and priorities for how the Bronx can thrive,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. “A Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy means that every major investment decision should be evaluated based on whether it builds wealth in the Bronx, improves job quality, strengthens local business ecosystems, and advances climate resilience. As Borough President, I am committed to being a partner on this initiative to ensure the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy serves as a guide for decision-making rooted in community voice and economic justice for every Bronx neighborhood.”
The Bronx CEDS builds on the long-term vision of the Bronx-wide Coalition, a cross-sector collaboration of community, labor, and faith partners working together since 2019 to advance community wealth and ownership.
“As partners, we are making history,” said Kerry A. McLean, Vice President of Community Development at WHEDco. “Built on a foundation of deep engagement and real relationships across sectors through the Bronx-wide Coalition, our Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy will be a roadmap toward an equitable economy for all Bronxites. We have listened to thousands of Bronxites and learned from models across the globe to shape successful strategies that build shared ownership, quality jobs, small business sustainability, and climate resilience into our ecosystem. The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition has played a critical coordinating role in building this vehicle with stakeholders across the borough—and we are excited to see them step further into that leadership as Our Bronx.”
Looking ahead to 2026, Our Bronx and elected partners highlighted key housing priorities to strengthen affordability, responsible ownership, and community ownership of land. In 2025, three projects entered the pipeline for incorporation with the Bronx Community Land Trust, including 2201-2205 Davidson Avenue, where Our Bronx and Councilmember Pierina Sanchez worked with tenants to transfer the building from its previous absentee owner and initiate the Third Party Transfer process exploring tenant ownership. Building on this work, partners are advancing the SAFER Homes Act to improve the city’s Third Party Transfer program and scale lessons from Davidson Avenue to benefit other buildings across New York City.
"From securing a development deal at the Kingsbridge Armory that creates community ownership and good jobs for local residents, to transitioning 2201-05 Davidson Avenue out of negligent ownership and on the road to rehabilitation—our partnership has delivered historic victories for our Bronx,” said City Council Member Pierina Sanchez. “Now, I am launching the SAFER Homes Act to realize what tenants have been demanding for years, real accountability for negligent owners and a pathway toward stabilization and responsible ownership. I am committed to advocating for full implementation and investment in each of these models that demonstrate that paradigm shifts that put real ownership and governance in community hands are possible. And I look forward to scaling our successes from District 14 across the Bronx and New York City, as the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition expands under the banner of Our Bronx.”
Leaders also uplifted growing collaborations with healthcare unions and state elected officials to pass the New York Health Act and secure healthcare for all. With nearly two-thirds of Bronx residents relying on Medicaid, local impacts of federal policy and funding decisions could hit the borough especially hard. Our Bronx has partnered with healthcare worker organizations including SEIU1199, the New York State Nurses Association, and Physicians for a National Health Program, alongside State Senator Gustavo Rivera, reaching hundreds of Bronx residents through town halls calling for state action.
“Throughout my 15 years in office, my team and the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition have worked in lock step to invest in our people and address our borough’s most pressing concerns,” said New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera. “I could not be prouder to partner with them as they grow into a borough-wide force as Our Bronx. This moment demands urgent state action around healthcare, an issue that Bronxites feel more than other New Yorkers, as they have struggled with barriers to care and high out of pocket costs for too long. The New York Health Act is a common-sense solution that would guarantee quality healthcare for all New Yorkers, regardless of age, wealth, or immigration status. It would also protect our state from the federal administration's Medicaid cuts and their draconian coverage eligibility changes that will go into effect over the next few years. As lead sponsor of the NY Health Act, I am committed to working with Our Bronx to make universal health coverage a reality that will transform the lives of so many in our borough and across New York State.”
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About Our Bronx: Founded in 1974 as the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, Our Bronx is a 5,000+ member-led, grassroots organization uniting diverse peoples and institutions to fight for racial justice and economic democracy through intergenerational community organizing, planning and community-led economic development. We build power by advancing community ownership of assets, collective governance of institutions, and systems change that improves people’s lives in the Bronx and beyond. Learn more at ourbronx.org.
