Category: Blog

I have been provided with the opportunity to speak to how my organization, Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association, a community development corporation in the Bronx, has progressed in its transformative work.  And there is much I can report.  For example, I can talk about the thousands of units of affordable housing we have preserved or built over our four decades of work. … Read more...

President’s Address

Greetings to all and welcome to our 9^th Annual Meet and Greet, an event that marks our 40^th Anniversary as a Community Development Corporation.

This event also serves as the last such event that I will be addressing you as President of Banana Kelly. … Read more...

Remarks by Harry DeRienzo

I want to thank CASA and all its leaders for this distinguished honor.  I am proud of what CASA has done for our Bronx neighborhoods and for the city as a whole.  I am gratified to be a small part of that success.… Read more...

By Harry DeRienzo

On April 25^th, the United States Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, announced this administration’s proposal to raise the tenant share of subsidized rent to 35%.   At present, the tenant share is 30%. … Read more...

There is a deep, pervasive history of racism in this country.  Over time and in varying forms, much of this racism has found expression in land use actions, including zoning actions.  As such, it is not surprising that given the current push in New York City to rezone 15 neighborhoods – neighborhoods of color comprised of working and lower income families – there is a lot of angry resistance and outright rejection of zoning proposals. … Read more...

There is a deep, pervasive history of racism in this country.  Over time and in varying forms, much of this racism has found expression in land use actions, including zoning actions.  As such, it is not surprising that given the current push in New York City to rezone 15 neighborhoods – neighborhoods of color comprised of working and lower income families – there is a lot of angry resistance and outright rejection of zoning proposals. … Read more...

Blog by Harold DeRienzo

In the Spring of 2014 Mayor de Blasio announced his ambitious 10-year housing plan to “build and preserve” 200,000 units of “affordable housing.”  At the time, the city was in good fiscal shape.  The economy overall was doing well, and there was every indication that no radical economic or political development would threaten that stability in the near term. … Read more...

TESTIMONY:

Jerome Avenue Scoping Session
Bronx Community College
September 29, 2016

Harold DeRienzo, President
Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association, Inc.

Testimony Focus: The need, and requirement for, a cumulative impact assessment on potential tenant displacement.

A. Basis for a Cumulative Impact Assessment: Under the 1986 Chinese Staff Workers case, when a proposed action is inconsistent with area character and is likely to change neighborhood population patterns and community character, the city is required to consider secondary, as well as cumulative, impacts.… Read more...

Acceptance Talk

Picture the Homeless “Dancegiving” Gala Event: October 6, 2016

We are living in a time of change. We see it all around us: people rising up to question inequality, institutional racism, and self-righteous, self-sustaining privilege. We see the potential for social progress, but we also see the potential for social regression.… Read more...

On Monday, September 26, 2016, over 300 hundred people came to City Hall to rally on the steps to demand passage of Right to Counsel, which would guarantee legal representation in housing court for low income New Yorkers. This day was historic.… Read more...