Hundreds gathered at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts for the second inauguration of Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.
Performances by the Renaissance Youth Center and Celia Cruz High School of Music set the stage for the evening.
Gibson was elected as borough president for the second time after securing 83% of the vote in the November 2025 election.
“This year, our blueprint is ‘the Bronx leads’ which is an affirmation and it’s a call to action with a focus on our borough as the next chapter… For too long, the Bronx has led in everything challenging and was lost in everything that is good,” Gibson said.
She said her administration has a strategic plan to address inequalities that have “contributed to years of decline and disinvestment” in public schools and educational facilities.
Building off accomplishments in education, healthcare, small businesses, housing and culture, Gibson shared what’s in store for 2026.
For education, her office will continue to work in partnership with the Bronx Higher Education Task Force by connecting college students with career readiness programs and initiatives.
“We will be working with our community partners to host a young adult employment fair with a focus on connecting 16 to 24 year olds to long-term employment. A stable job, folks, can transform a person’s life and is part of our overall larger effort to connect all of our residents with career pathways,” she added.
At the intersection of education, music and culture, the borough president said that the Bronx School of Hip Hop will be opening in the South Bronx in September 2026, the first of its kind.
Gibson also expressed her excitement to support the initiative for the revitalization of Greater Morris Park, which received a $20 million grant from Governor Kathy Hochul and the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI).
This grant will support efforts to enhance the quality of life for residents by spurring economic opportunity and strengthening local corridors.
Her administration will continue to address healthcare and health disparities in the Bronx by launching a Bronx Asthma and Respiratory Health Equity initiative.
“It will include strong advocacy for a new Bronx asthma center that will be a centralized hub for prevention care, coordination, research and community education,” Gibson said.
“This initiative will address air quality, housing conditions and environmental injustice, tackling the root causes that unfortunately make asthma a daily reality for too many of our Bronx children and families.”
Gibson is committed to working with her colleagues and advocates to expand access to care for mothers before, during and after childbirth.
With a $5 million capital investment from Governor Hochul, there will be a Bronx-based birthing center to combat maternal mortality rates.
Making home ownership accessible to all Bronx families is another next steps her administration wants to take.
“Owning a home is a powerful step towards building generational wealth, building equity and pathways to the middle class and providing long-term stability for families and our future generations,” Gibson added.
On March 4 at Bronx Borough Hall, her office is hosting an information session connecting homeowners with housing related resources and experts to give residents the confidence to pursue and sustain homeownership.
Lucas Hjertberg, a senior at Fordham University, attended the event with his classmates because the borough president has visited and championed projects at the university like the Bronx Green Jobs Center.
“The Bronx does lead in many ways, whether it’s the culture of the Bronx, the people of the Bronx in leading the city forward and is always an underrepresented area of the city,” Hjertberg said. “So it’s exciting to see [the Bronx] lead with this name and the initiative.”
Naomi Fry, another Fordham college student, was excited to see Vanessa Gibson speak and share her vision and plans for the Bronx.
“Just as a Black woman, it’s always wonderful to see another Black woman pursuing something that’s similar to my dream and just succeeding overall,” Fry said.
“I think that affordable housing has to be a number one priority for her, just because there’s a lot of efforts to kind of push locals out and natives out, and that’s something that you can’t have,” she said. “A city loses its character when its natives leave.”
Marin Zahran attended the event to support her family who works in Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson’s office and wanted to learn more about her future plans.
“I think seeing all of the new initiatives that are coming to fruition this year is really exciting. The education initiatives — especially for the arts. I think it’s really cool to honor the music history of the Bronx,” Zahran said.
Zahran believes Gibson is the best to lead the Bronx because of her knowledge of the borough.
“She cares so passionately. I’ve met her multiple times. She cares and she wants to see the Bronx lead,” Zahran said. “It’s really exciting to see how far [the Bronx] has come in the last four years and to see her aggressive campaign forward to really help us be the best borough.”
Elita Hodges, a college advisor in the Bronx, attended the inauguration to learn more about the borough president’s educational endeavors for the next four years. She also wants to become more community-oriented and enhance her work as an educator.
“Even though she was born in Brooklyn, she represents the Bronx to the fullest,” Hodges said. “She might be dressed up today but tomorrow she’s going to go right back to her sneakers and her sweats and get down and dirty to help clean up the Bronx, so she’s true to everything she says.”
Reach Keke Grant-Floyd at keiwana.grantfloyd19@gmail.com. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
