When Mid Bronx Senior Citizens Council (MBSCC) was founded in 1973, the Bronx was becoming a symbol of urban blight in America. The community’s commercial enterprise was in decline, its community services were shutting down and its housing stock was being decimated by arson and abandonment. Local and national leaders toured its streets and cited statistics on soaring crime, poverty and double digit unemployment levels to fully demonstrate the failure of the nation's urban policies. Confronted with incredible challenges, MBSCC emerged as one of the top non-profit, community development corporations in the region, considered the "Downtown Bronx".
Our initial role was to coordinate efforts with other organizations to identify needs and ensure services for seniors in the Bronx. At the agency’s core was the commitment to support and empower residents of all ages through the provision of affordable housing, economic and workforce development, community organizing, as well as comprehensive services for children, youth, families and older adults.
MBSCC next turned its attention to homebound seniors and, in doing so, entered the world of service delivery. Our early programs included Project Homebound, developed in 1977 to provide meals, transportation, escorts, advocacy and case management to the homebound elderly in order to prevent unnecessary institutionalization. This incredibly successful case-management program has been replicated throughout the city. Since that time, MBSCC has grown considerably to serve all ages and a broad range of area needs.
Beginning in the 1980s, MBSCC rehabilitated and developed over 28 buildings, receiving the prestigious New York State Distinguished Housing Service Award in 1986, one of only two recipients in New York City. We now provide more than 1100 affordable housing units for low-income families, the formerly homeless and seniors. In 1997, when the Bronx received the nation's oldest and most prestigious community award, All America City, the National Civic League acknowledged MBSCC for its transformative work in helping to turn their borough into one of the nation’s top ten communities, a transformation so startling and profound, it is often called the "Bronx Miracle".
The Bronx is now outperforming the rest of New York City in employment gains and the number of businesses coming to the borough. Nearly 500 new companies have opened their doors in just the past eight years. The Bronx retail, service and financial business sectors are thriving. Since 1986, more than 30,000 housing units have been built or renovated in the Bronx and real estate values are rising steeply. Residents in revitalized neighborhoods are working together to turn vacant buildings into new housing and small businesses, vacant lots into beautiful gardens and in rebuilding their communities, they are creating a model for rebuilding America's decaying cities.
Our community leadership and collaboration with other organizations to help seniors led to the creation of seven senior centers throughout the South Bronx. The centers were an integral part of a community response to help the most vulnerable in our society.
