Mayor Zohran Mamdani made an appearance on day two of the inaugural Bronx Economic Development Summit, where he pledged City Hall’s partnership in correcting past injustices that unfairly harmed the borough’s people, infrastructure and reputation.
In attendance for Mamdani’s speech were Deputy Mayor Julie Su, Cea Weaver of the Office to Protect Tenants, Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Council Member Pierina Sanchez and hundreds of attendees of the two-day summit, convened by the nonprofit Our Bronx and the Bronx Economic Development Corporation (BXEDC).
The June 6 sessions focused on the Bronx’s historical and present-day challenges that can prevent true economic justice and opportunity. Mamdani’s message fit that theme, drawing on the “Bronx is burning” era and its ongoing impact, and highlighting his commitment to reverse the damage.
In introducing the mayor as the day’s keynote speaker, Sandra Lobo, executive director of Our Bronx, said any economic strategy — namely, the federally supported Bronx draft plan currently in the works — will only be effective with true partners in government and other institutions.
Today, Lobo said she sees “real alignment and synergy” with city government on important issues such as childcare, tenant protections, support for “mom-and-pop” businesses and street vendors and more.
“Family stability is economic development,” Lobo said.
Mamdani began his remarks by invoking Bronx-born photographer Mel Rosenthal, who was born in the South Bronx in 1940 and later documented “block after block of blight” in his neighborhood in the 70s and 80s. During what the mayor called the “arson for profit” era, many landlords burned their buildings rather than repair them — and government simply turned a blind eye.
Federal policies treated the Bronx with “benign neglect” and City Hall implemented “planned shrinkage” that withdrew critical services from the borough, Mamdani said.
But despite the destruction, he said Rosenthal’s photos depicted lively communities that fought for justice then and in the decades since.
“It is high time that City Hall matches these efforts,” Mamdani said, pledging that his City Hall will “leave neglect behind and lead instead with action and investment.”
‘All of government approach”
Combatting the legacy of disparities in the Bronx requires an “all of government approach,” the mayor said.
Mamdani pointed to his new Block By Block housing plan that aims to create 200,000 new affordable homes and preserve the same number of existing homes over the next 10 years, spurring job creation in the process.
He also spoke in support of opportunities for tenants to own their neglected buildings under the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act; a program for renters to generate equity in the appreciated value of their homes; and the city-owned grocery store expected to open next year in Hunts Point, turning the site of the infamous Spofford Juvenile Detention Facility into a much-needed source of affordable food.
He also pointed to the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory under part-ownership by Our Bronx, which Mamdani called “a model for how to keep the people of the Bronx in the driver’s seat.”
With these initiatives, “City Hall is delivering on our belief that government can drive the change that improves New Yorkers’ lives, and we can do so while ensuring that New Yorkers themselves are the ones leading the way,” Mamdani said.
He concluded by quoting Rosenthal, who said of his photo subjects, “I take their picture and give them back their image.”
“That is our commitment to the Bronx: to restore this borough’s image, and to do so by reflecting back to the dignity, strength, resilience and creativity of all those who call the Bronx home today and have been calling the Bronx home for decades,” Mamdani said. “We will work together to build a future worthy of your image for generations to come.”
Before departing, the mayor led the group in several chants of, “Let’s go Knicks!” as the room echoed the city’s frenzy over the team’s Game 2 win in the NBA Finals the night before.
For more information on the summit and the draft of the first-ever Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the Bronx, see here.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
