William Dudley, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York came to The Bronx yesterday for a tour of various organizations and small businesses. One of the most important comments that came from the tour was from Nancy Biberman, Executive Director of WHEDco (Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corp.):
Nancy Biberman, executive director of the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corp., a Bronx-based community development organization, said the borough’s large immigrant population, a lack of education and barriers to credit have made the Bronx inhospitable to new and small businesses.
“What we’re finding is that really in a community where there’s large numbers of immigrants…[they] tend to start small businesses,” she said. “They take the skills that they’ve come to this country with and try to make money.”
And to that end, the Wall Street Journal went on to say:
That is what Manuela Perez is trying to do. Ms. Perez, a resident of the Bronx for 30 years, is originally from the Dominican Republic. Four years ago she started a catering business called B-Blossom Catering. “We are concerned about all the health issues in the Bronx. We are concerned about the lack of employment, the lack of training,” Ms. Perez said. But she added: “We feel that we can make a difference. We would prefer to work here and stay here.”
As a result of this tour, Dudley went on to say that he is planning to engage with local Bronx banks and work in encouraging them on how they can help the very communities which they serve. As we all know and talk about a lot here at Welcome2TheBronx is the strength of our borough is in our people and the multitude of immigrants from around the world who call The Bronx home. Many come with that entrepreneurial spirit of movers and shakers wanting to start their own businesses.
We need to be able to support these individuals and businesses any which way we can. Big malls and chain stores are not going to uplift our people as much as politicians praise them. Sure they’re fine to have around but they are not the only solution. Such employment is great for young adults but they’re definitely not what we want to depend on.
The Bronx can and needs to do much better in helping small businesses. We can start by making sure that our Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr’s office (along with Marlene Cintron of the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (BOEDC) work more in uplifting small businesses and giving people a true chance at achieving the American Dream.
Read the rest via Federal Reserve Bank President Says Bronx on the Mend After Recession – WSJ.
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