Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative at DSI
Join us in conversation with the Bronx-wide Coalition and “The Bronx-Wide Plan”
Bronx-wide Coalition Representatives: Evan Casper-Futterman, Gisselle Morales, Karla Cruz
What is the Bronx-wide Plan?
The Bronx-wide Coalition has launched our Bronx-wide planning process to create a community-led, long-term economic development plan for the borough grounded in racial justice and economic democracy. Our platforms build on the collective efforts of the Bronx-wide Coalition, made up of local residents and twenty-four organizations who co-created the Bronx-wide People’s Platform for Congress 2020, which articulates systemic policy solutions at the federal level. Our process of building solidarity and creating shared platforms paved the way.
Decades of our lived experiences, organizing, and research tell us that structural racism, climate change, and economic inequality are critical health hazards for the Bronx. Even as resources have been made available locally and nationally, Bronx residents, including Black and brown business owners, have been largely shut out of accessing these funds. Residential and commercial tenants continue to fight for rent cancellation as we edge closer and closer to an eviction and homelessness crisis. And the essential workers, who disproportionately come from our communities, continue to risk their health and safety to provide New Yorkers critical services. As New York City negotiates what a just recovery looks like, we are clear that our strategies should not be focused on going back to normal. The “normal” that existed before the pandemic did not work for most of us.
The future of the Bronx, and our whole city, must follow a different path.
For those who cannot join in person, this event will be recorded, captioned, and posted after the event on the MFA DSI website.
MFA DSI student facilitators: Bhavya Chaudhary, Brielle Mariucci
Read more about the Bronx-wide Plan