South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation

Filing Period

Apr 1, 2011 to Mar 31, 2012

Signed

Dec 26, 2012

Return Version

2011v1.2

Gross Receipts

$9,043,377

Mission

Major Activities

Activity 2

Sobro continued to offer numerous programs to adult learners and/or job-seekers, including english for speakers of other languages (esol), ged preparation, general literacy classes, and job readiness training. Career developmentsobro provided career development services to over 1,232 individuals throughout the year. Several new programs, initiatives, partnerships, and structuring plans implemented in the 2011-2012 program year made sure that the career development department would continue to provide job placement services successfully to the bronx community. Sobro provides high quality training and job placement services in career growth sectors that ensure positive outcomes, while simultaneously addressing the needs of sobro customers (job seekers, businesses/employers, and funders). During the most recent program year, the department achieved the following:- the jobs to build on program averaged 140 placements per year for over two years- the pathways out of poverty program achieved 61 job placements this year- the career pathways program achieved 66 job placements this year- the wage subsidy program averaged 57 placements per year for over two years- the back to work program achieved 75 job placements this yearall of the above programs met or exceeded their performance targets. Adult educationwithin the most recent program year, sobro provided adult basic education, esol, and ged preparation services to 1,151 individuals. Sobro also provided esol/civics classes through funds provided by councilwoman maria del carmen arroyo. Throughout the year, we developed a series of instruments/tools that allowed staff to monitor and assess program quality. The qualitative reading inventory (qri) was used, which gave education and career development (ecd) instructors the opportunity to observe students' reading behaviors. This qri also established a baseline for instruction and will be used as a tool to identify patterns and reading tendencies for improvement during future lessons. Monthly staff meetings were conducted, which entailed staff development with opportunities to share strategies that elicit positive learning outcomes and coaching for educational instructors. Consequently, we exceeded our contractual obligations and received a combined above average and excellent ratings on program evaluations from the nyc department of youth and community development (dycd). In collaboration with dr. Denise clay (ecd director of education and staff development), instructors were able to enhance program curricula in areas such as lesson plans. Finally, the ecd adult education instructional team assisted and advised sobro's development team in compiling statistics, outcome data, and program design concepts in the development and submission of proposals.

Activity 3

The community and economic development department (ced) administers an array of programs that seek to make a lasting impact on the economic, physical, and social fabric of our community. Ced provided property management services to 527 units in nine properties in the bronx and upper manhattan, business assistance services to over 700 clients, and entrepreneurial development services to 138 aspiring entrepreneurs. The department offers technical assistance to business owners and entrepreneurial development programs that help clients build and maintain a successful enterprise. It also provides an extensive range of commercial and industrial business incentives through partnerships with government agencies to attract investment and ensure that existing businesses can thrive. The department continued to successfully operate many programs that have attracted thousands of jobs, hundreds of businesses, and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment to the south bronx throughout sobro's history. The procurement and technical assistance (ptac) and minority- and women-owned business enterprise (m/wbe) programs helped local businesses to secure lucrative government contracts. These, along with the industrial business zone and empire zone programs, offer powerful incentives to entrepreneurs, allow our clients to access tax incentives, capital, and other benefits to weather the recession and, in many cases, even expand despite tough economic times. The real estate development and property management activities of ced also continue to make a major impact on the south bronx landscape. We continue to build attractive, high-quality, affordable apartments that offer residents a pleasant living environment of which they can feel proud. Our buildings are energy efficient and built to nyserda specifications, making them affordable and environmentally friendly. To date, we have developed over 500 units of affordable and special needs housing, with another 600 in various stages of development. Our commercial real estate development projects are central to our overall efforts to revitalize the south bronx and have served to create jobs, attract new businesses and residents, and facilitate our business assistance programs. Our initiatives have created the opportunity for the private sector to develop integrated residential, commercial and industrial development projects. For example, the grand opening of one of sobro's most innovative real estate projects, the crotona park apartments, took place on monday, may 7th, 2012. The crotona park apartments were formerly located at a vacant gasoline service station that had a blighting impact on the surrounding neighborhood for decades. Soil and groundwater were fully remediated to an "unrestricted track 1" level of cleanup, the highest standard under the new york state brownfield cleanup program. Today, the crotona park apartments development is a 7-story, multi-family, mixed-use development providing high-performance affordable housing to 64 low- and moderate-income households, over 12,350 square feet of commercial and community facility space, and a 1,805 square foot green roof made accessible for tenant use. Crotona park apartments won the big apple brownfield award in the affordable housing category.this year, sobro received grant awards from the city and state of new york that provided critical support to the economic development activities in the eastchester section of the bronx. The first award was bestowed by the new york state department of state to complete a nomination study for a 120-acre industrial area in eastchester through a step 2 brownfield opportunity areas (boa) grant. Sobro's project objectives include strengthening the existing industrial business sector, improving infrastructure, addressing land use issues between adjacent residential and industrial pockets, facilitating cleanup of contaminated soil and groundwater, and assessing waterfront access opportunities. The award will accomp

Filer

EIN

13-2736022