For generations, the Bronx has been a place where working people, small businesses, and communities have fought for investment, opportunity, and a fair share of New York City’s economic future.
Today, the Bronx is in a moment of heightened change. Major public investments are moving through planning and implementation. Private development interest is increasing and changing the borough’s landscape. New projects are advancing in commercial corridors, industrial areas, and along parts of the waterfront.
Some of these investments bring real promise, while others raise real concerns. And for many Bronx families and small business owners, the cost of living is rising faster than paychecks, making it harder to stay rooted, plan for the future, and build stability.
That’s why the most important question in front of us is whether the Bronx’s growth will benefit the people who already call this borough home.
At Our Bronx and the Bronx Economic Development Corporation (BXEDC), we believe economic growth should be measured by whether it improves household stability, strengthens locally owned businesses, expands access to family-sustaining jobs and career pathways, and builds resilience in the face of climate and economic shocks.
With support from a planning grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, we are co-leading the Bronx’s first-ever Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, or CEDS. A CEDS is a federally recognized economic development roadmap that helps a region set priorities, develop an actionable strategy, and align partners around implementation. It also strengthens the Bronx’s ability to compete for resources to advance the projects and strategies we choose.
The CEDS process has been rooted in borough-wide engagement. Since 2019, Our Bronx and partners have convened assemblies and conversations across neighborhoods to identify shared challenges and priorities. In the past year, we’ve expanded that work through public assemblies, surveys, and sector-based focus groups bringing in the perspectives of residents, workers, small business owners, community partners, educators, labor and industry stakeholders.
Across these conversations, the themes have been consistent. They want affordable housing, better transportation access, stronger career pathways for young people, and quality jobs for Bronx workers. They want support for small businesses and entrepreneurs, both in established industries and emerging sectors.
Later this summer, we’ll release the completed Bronx CEDS. But participation is not limited to a document release.
June 5 and 6, we’ll co-host the first-ever Bronx Economic Development Summit, a free public convening designed to share emerging findings, learn from proven models from other places, and deepen alignment across sectors as we move from planning to implementation.
The Summit will bring together community leaders, practitioners, small businesses, workforce partners, educators, labor, and public officials who want to help shape a future where the Bronx’s growth is matched by the Bronx’s stability.
The Bronx’s story has always been shaped by the people who have built lives here through challenges and change. Together, we can make sure Bronx residents are not just witnessing that success, but fully part of it.
Sandra Lobo is the executive director of Our Bronx, Winston Peters is the President of BXEDC.
