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Community Development Corporations (CDCs) are non-profit, community-based organizations intended to make poor neighborhoods better places to live, and they contributed to the revitalization of the South Bronx. They run a variety of programs for residents, including housing development, economic development, health care, education, job training, community improvement programs, and other social services.
The Point (located in Hunts Point of the South Bronx), which our class is going to, is a CDC. On its website, it describes itself as the following:
The Point Community Development Corporation is a nonprofit organization 501 (c) (3) dedicated to youth development and the cultural and economic revitalization of the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx.
We work with our neighbors to celebrate the life and art of our community, an area traditionally defined solely in terms of its poverty, crime rate, poor schools, and substandard housing. We believe the area's residents, their talents and aspirations, are The Point's greatest assets.
Our mission is to encourage the arts, local enterprise, responsible ecology, and self-investment in the Hunts Point community.
CDCs evolved from community action agencies in the 1960s and 1970s, which were local agencies in urban areas, part of federal programs aimed to stop poverty. In the 80s, the federal funding was greatly reduced, and these groups suddenly needed to make money to stay in operation. Developing and financing housing emerged as a solution because it could provide a stream of income (in addition to helping the community, of course) and many new CDCs were started with this function. They would purchase disused buildings, rehabilitate them, and then rent or sell them at affordable prices. In the 1990s, the number of CDCs grew more, and they diversified into other forms of development, such as commercial and industrial space, youth centers, and day care centers.
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