Sustainable South Bronx

Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx) is a non-profit workforce development and environmental justice solutions organization in New York City's South Bronx neighborhood, founded by Majora Carter in 2001.[2] Today, it is a division of the Brooklyn-based workforce development organization,The HOPE Program.[3]

Sustainable South Bronx
AbbreviationSSBx
Named afterSouth Bronx
Established2001 (2001)
FounderMajora Carter
Founded atHunts Point, Bronx
TypeEconomic development corporation
Legal status501(c)(3)
PurposeEnvironmental organization
Headquarters1647 Macombs Rd. Bronx, NY 10453 USA
Parent organization
The HOPE Program
SubsidiariesSmartRoofs, LLC.
Budget (2014)
$1,439,509
Websitewww.ssbx.org
[1]

The organization spearheaded the creation of Hunts Point Riverside Park, the first piece of the projected South Bronx Greenway.[4] This organization also pioneered a "green roof" project in the South Bronx with its own for-profit installation company SmartRoofs, LLC, and started a "green-collar" job training program called Bronx Environmental Stewardship Program (B.E.S.T.) which prepares urban residents in areas such as ecological restoration, hazardous waste cleanup, green roof installation and maintenance, urban forestry, and landscaping; the program has a 90% placement rate after four years of operation.[5] They are also proposing a Bronx Eco-Industrial Complex as an alternative use for a piece of land where the city government currently is planning to construct a prison, and are engaged in developing "a collection of businesses in which the waste and byproducts of one business are the raw materials for another one."[2]

In 2005, SSBx built the "Cool and Greenroof Demonstration Project" above their offices in the historic American Banknote Building — the first such roof in the City of New York. In 2007, SSBx launched the for-profit SmartRoofs, LLC green roof installation business.

Today, SSBx still runs a robust 12 week green jobs training program (formerly called the Bronx Environmental Stewardship Training (BEST), now called Sustainable South Bronx. Training topics range from landscaping, energy auditing, green infrastructure, OSHA and BPI certifications and more.[6] This program aims to provide economic empowerment to the community through training, employment and career services, while contributing to the environmental sustainability of New York City. SSBx also runs two transitional employment programs, which provide participants with on the job training, valuable experience, and a fair wage for their work. CoolRoofs hires New Yorkers to coat NYC rooftops with a reflective material, easing buildings' energy consumption and mitigating the urban heat island effect. Intervine, SSBx's social enterprise, trains and employs low-income community members to create and maintain green infrastructure.

See also

References
  1. "Charity Navigator - Rating for Sustainable South Bronx". Charity Navigator. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  2. Cynthia E. Rockwell, "Breaking the Grip of Poverty", Wesleyan (Wesleyan University alumni magazine), Issue IV 2006, 33–37.
  3. "NYC CoolRoofs - NYC Business". www1.nyc.gov. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  4. Roberts, Daniel (30 April 2010). "Sustainable South Bronx wins EPA award". New York Post. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  5. Green, Emily (12 Dec 2016). "Self-gentrification: A South Bronx lesson for Portland | Street Roots". news.streetroots.org. Street Roots News. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  6. "How It Works". The HOPE Program. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
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