Bronx Economy Needs New Blood in 2011

Posted on 03. Dec, 2010 by Amy Yensi in Uncategorized

By Amy Yensi:

The Bronx needs to revamp the way it does business, if the borough’s economy is to improve in 2011.

The borough’s unemployment rate is 12.5 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s almost twice the city’s unemployment rate of 7.8 percent. The median household income in the Bronx was about $35 thousand compared to close to $56 thousand for the entire city. The number of Bronxites living below the poverty level was about 27 percent compared to close to 14 percent for the rest of the city in 2008. Part of the problem is that too many large employers are leaving the borough and small businesses aren’t hiring.

“The backbone of the economy in the Bronx is small business—mom and pop stores. Often if they hire anybody, its one or two people,” said Lloyd Ultan, Bronx Borough Historian.

The borough’s already scant job pool has been consistently depleting. The Stella D’Oro factory in Kingsbridge shut its doors for good in October of 2009, after the company’s ownership changed. The bakery provided jobs for Bronxites since 1932 and its closing cost the borough 155 jobs. Months later, Old London Foods ended its operations in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx. The company shipped its 228 jobs to Yadkinville, N.C. recently, merchants at the Hunts Point Produce Market signaled an interest to move to New Jersey because they are unhappy with regulations imposed by the Business Integrity Commission. The market has close to 2400 employees.
But nothing signifies a missed opportunity to put Bronxites to work more than the failure to reach a development deal for the Kingsbridge Armory.

“The fact that it wasn’t developed for retail will hurt the borough. Schools are needed but they don’t really help the Bronx economy,” said Michael Benjamin, New York State Assembly Member of the 79th District in the Bronx.

Plans to develop the Kingsbridge Armory fell through, following months of disputes over living wage requirements. Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. led the opposition against the Mayor and developer’s plan to turn the Armory into a shopping mall. The argument that some jobs are better than no jobs couldn’t keep the project alive.

Benjamin is still wondering what could’ve been of the massive structure that had been empty and largely unused for years. And although a new task force is thinking of ways to use the space, he isn’t optimistic.

“I suspect that they will ignore the armory and look into other projects,” said Benjamin. “We can’t constantly be naysayers and keep saying no—making unreasonable demands. We need to put out the signal that the Bronx is a good place to do business,” he added.

Others say the problem with the armory was that plans that were on the table weren’t innovative enough.

“We have to think more creatively. There wasn’t an assessment of all the assets in the area,” said Miquela Craytor, Executive Director, Sustainable South Bronx.
The Kingsbridge Armory is close to universities and hospitals, like Fordham University and Montefiore Medical Center. Craytor says the space could have served as a research center for the health industry or her organization’s focus—green technology.

The borough’s green effort got a boost from the federal government in February. The Obama Administration pledged a $4 million federal stimulus grant to train Bronx residents for green jobs. Green technology is highly competitive—the Bronx will have to be innovative to gain an edge.

Craytor works out of the American Banknote Building in Hunts Point and is excited about the city’s plans to invest in a business incubator for new firms in the building.
“It’s a real recognition of a turning point. The idea that new businesses can be formed and get their start here really translates that the ground is fertile for growth,” said Craytor.

Another industry with growth potential in the Bronx is healthcare—it accounts for more than half of the private sectors jobs in the borough, according to the New York State Comptroller’s Office. The Montefiore Medical Center is the largest private employer in the Bronx. It plans to expand their services over the next ten years. That could mean more jobs for the borough—60 percent of Montefiore employees live in the Bronx. Leaders in the Bronx can play a key role in the growth of health care.

“They need to continue collaborating and not lose sigh of the community being focus,” said Gloria Kenny, Assistant Vice President of Human Resources, Montefiore Medical Center. “I would love to see more of a healthcare focus in high schools. We need more research within the Bronx to get people ready and thinking,” she added.

But the borough’s reputation may stifle its growth. Craytor says working on the public’s view of the Bronx will have to accompany its development.

“One of the big challenges is how do we overcome those perceptions those negative stereotypes that provide a block to not only envisioning it but investing in it,” said Craytor.