Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation

About Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation

During the summer of 1978, the nation had given up on its cities and their old neighborhoods. Buildings were abandoned and fires were rampant. As a group of tenants and community leaders began to meet about the future of the Fordham Bedford community, its future looked very bleak. But they wanted to offer hope to their neighbors and help residents take control of the community’s destiny.

In 1980, a group of Northwest Bronx community members created a new organization that would fight to save their homes. These efforts eventually launched Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation (FBHC), a nonprofit organization. In the early days, volunteers managed several buildings and addressed emergency situations, with enlisted support of tenants.

FBHC was one of many community-led efforts that pioneered bringing government and private investment into formerly neglected housing in the Bronx. Using these early investments, and the momentum from its successes, the company took on more buildings. It first gained expertise in management, then in renovating occupied apartments, and later it began building new apartment buildings in the neighborhood.