a YMPJ Project

The Soundview Economic Hub

For eight years the Soundview, Bronx River, and Hunts Point communities have worked to reimagine and reclaim 30,000 square feet of underutilized space under the Bruckner Expressway at Bronx River Avenue. Led by Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, Inc (YMPJ), this initiative aims to transform a large, vacant space into the Soundview Economic Hub: a community-driven space at the nexus of food systems, health, and economic development. Through this Hub, YMPJ aims to address long-standing community needs for job training opportunities, business incubation space, access to fresh, healthy foods, and intergenerational programming.

THE GOALS OF THE SOUNDVIEW ECONOMIC HUB

The Soundview Economic Hub is an innovative space activation initiative which seeks to give South Bronx residents, entrepreneurs, and food growers a community-oriented space to manufacture goods and offer services that provide resources, employment, and educational opportunities. Once renovated, the space will stimulate the local economy by providing incubator spaces and classrooms for food manufacturers, vendors, and service providers, while also serving as a nexus for wholesale food and urban agriculture.

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The Soundview Economic Hub aims to:

  1. Support public health by fostering food sovereignty, creating a “micro-food hub”
    or neighborhood-based food hub that supports production, processing, and
    distribution.
  2. Generate employment and job training opportunities through hands-on training and
    affordable incubator spaces that allow local entrepreneurs to scale.
  3. Host intergenerational community events for local residents, merchants, and
    community groups.
  4. Improve pedestrian and bicycling access in the area, connecting the Soundview,
    Bronx River, and Hunts Point communities, to learn more about the vision, click here.