Thoughts from The Bronx

On "Job Creators"

The catchphrase of the moment seems to be "job creators." Well, as we say in the Bronx, we know from job creation-and we know how government, residents and community-based organizations can work together to rev up progress in neighborhoods where poverty has long been a fact of life.

Having worked in the Bronx for more than two decades, we have witnessed some very smart government investment. So we see government-bashing as not only unproductive, but plain wrong.

This past summer, a New York Times reporter visited the South Bronx with the heads of New York City's housing and finance agencies. The reporter wrote about a "forest of new buildings" that grew with the "foresight and fidelity" of local government. Some of these buildings are still under construction; some are more than a decade old.

Government's substantial financial investment in the Bronx, over several city administrations, has paid off with new businesses, new residents, cleaner streets and busy playgrounds.

Our government partners are quick to point out the critical role organizations like WHEDco have played, using the catalyst of government investment to create opportunities and hope for families.

We have learned that communities truly prosper when neighbors find ways to recognize and use their talents to start businesses, make the most of the educational system and work together.

At WHEDco, we see our role as forging new partnerships across streets and beyond "services."

We are organizing merchants along a key shopping corridor to promote each other and drive commerce. We are training women to provide home-based childcare that generates not only great care for kids but also family-supporting microenterprises. And we are guiding more of our kids through the pivotal middle school years into selective high schools, a unique area of focus critical to high school graduation and long-term prospects.

So, how is it that jobs are really created? It takes wise government investment, community partnerships, long-term vision and patience. In the Bronx, we have these in abundance.

No one here harbors illusions about the pace of any economic recovery. But the grit and scrappy persistence of our staff and neighbors augurs a more hopeful future.

Nancy