A South Bronx community facing challenge and change marks a milestone

Neighbors living in the South Bronx's Mott Haven neighborhood, which has experienced a development boom that includes thousands of new, affordable market-rate apartments, will celebrate a new milestone on Sunday: the formation of a community organization charged with filling gaps in services, and with further improving community life.

The Mott Haven Neighborhood Service Collaborative comprises local service organizations, nonprofits, religious institutions, public agencies and other groups, according to organizers, and has been in the making for decades. A founding member, St. Ann’s Church at 295 St. Ann’s Ave., will host a gathering at noon to mark the occasion and its own St. Ann’s Day.

The initiative comes in a community that is still saddled with high poverty rates, poor health outcomes and the ill effects of decades of disinvestment. But the community has rebounded in recent years, most notably with the addition of gleaming new apartment towers near the Harlem River that serve both longtime residents and newcomers.

Yet participants say there is still plenty more to do.

“You always have to go outside the neighborhood to access quality education, health care, just a whole myriad of things,” said Arline Parks, vice chairperson and CEO of Diego Beekman Mutual Housing Association , a nonprofit affordable housing group spearheading the initiative.

Diego Beekman took ownership of the local housing community complex of the same name from the U.S. Department of Housing and Development in 2003. Parks said the association has focused its work on stabilizing the neighborhood and rehabilitating the buildings after years of divestment from the federal government. Parks said it is also focused on fortifying the community with services it has long been denied.

Here’s what to know about the Mott Haven Neighborhood Service Collaborative, based on interviews with organizers:

What area does it serve?

Generally, it serves the southeastern corner of Mott Haven, between East 138th and 150th streets, Parks said, which lags behind the southwestern part of the neighborhood in terms of new investment. Although other parts of the Bronx are being revitalized, the area remains a service and resource desert, said the collaborative's project manager, Kristin Miller.

The neighborhood is home to key organizations and participants, including St. Ann’s Church, the Diego Beekman Complex, Mott Haven Library, Lincoln Hospital, Per Scholas and the Knowledge House , which offers a range of services including skills training, food, educational classes and primary health care.

What are they trying to accomplish?

Organizers' goals include identifying organizations that can boost services and resources, increasing community outreach, forging cooperation and collaboration among different organizations and agencies, and increasing responsiveness to local needs.

Parks, a lifelong resident of the area, said a mix of private and public resources are essential for the community to move away from depending on the government. She added that she has seen the toll of years of community divestment.

“There was educational programming funded by the federal government, and it existed successfully for 10 years. The funding ran out, and then we were left with a big gap there,” Parks said.

What challenges does the community face?

Notwithstanding recent gains, decades-old challenges persist in the South Bronx: crumbling infrastructure, high crime rates, poor health outcomes, high poverty rates and a shortage of affordable housing.

Mott Haven is situated near four highways and a Fresh Direct warehouse, creating what some refer to as “Asthma Alley.” Local residents experience significantly more asthma hospitalizations than elsewhere in New York City, and children have some of the highest rates of asthma in the country, according to research from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

Has the migrant crisis touched Mott Haven?

Absolutely, according the Rev. Matthew Engleby, rector priest of St. Ann’s Church.

“Mott Haven is one of the landing points for many of those folks looking for stability in their lives,” Engleby said. “We do on a regular basis have folks at our door looking for assistance.”

The influx of migrants – more than 200,000 have come to New York since spring 2022, most of whom are asylum-seekers – has boosted need for food, shelter and jobs, including for those lacking legal work authorization, Engleby said.

Through other partnerships with farms throughout the Hudson Valley, St. Ann’s Church has been able to provide fresh food for the long lines of people showing up at the church food pantry and soup kitchen, he said.

Engleby said these partnerships show the value in the sorts of collaborative efforts the new group hopes to replicate.