History
In an attempt to fight the blight and deterioration that had
plagued the Hunts Point community of the Bronx, the group known as SEBCO (South
East Bronx Community Organization) was formed in the fall of 1968 under the
visionary leadership of Father Louis R. Gigante. Thirteen organizations, among
them churches, business institutions and local civic associations, banded together
in an effort to redevelop one of the worst neighborhoods in the United States.
Assisted by the “Model Cities Program”, SEBCO worked with urban planners and
elected officials to develop schools, recreational facilities and to redevelop
the local infrastructure, as a prelude to the redevelopment of the neighborhood’s
housing stock. By 1974, only five of the original thirteen organizations remained
active, and the future of the South East Bronx was uncertain.
However, in 1975, the future of SEBCO and the Hunts Point community began to
change for the better. After lengthy negotiations, the United States Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approved SEBCO’s first subsidized rehabilitation
project known as SEBCO I and II for 360 apartments in 9 buildings. Then
in 1977, HUD approved the next project
known as SEBCO III, for an additional 200 housing units, and by late 1978, many
more proposals for HUD Section 8 projects were approved. These projects included
SEBCO VI (100 units), Maria Estela Houses I (236 units as SEBCO’s first new
construction project), and Aldus III (173 units).
SEBCO, with a staff of three opened its own office in the SEBCO I Houses
in January of 1978 which led to the hiring of additional staff members to assist
in tenanting, community organizing, management, maintenance and housing development.
Then in April of 1978, SEBCO was formally incorporated under the laws of the
State of New York for not-for-profit organizations as SEBCO Development Inc.
and as they say, the rest is history!
The organization, growing rapidly, and in anticipation of a need for its own
management, maintenance and security systems, began investigating a series of
alternatives. By the spring of 1980, SEBCO Management (now known as Building
Management Associates) became a reality, and soon thereafter SEBCO Security
(now known as Sentry Security) followed. Both subsidiaries became profit making
organizations, and have had significant impact on the continuing development
of the neighborhood in terms of providing employment as well as the future sustenance
of SEBCO Development Inc., (the nonprofit organization). In March 1985 SEBCO
started another subsidiary, Tiffany Maintenance, to service the buildings under
its management.
The SEBCO organization can proudly point to the fact that its creation has been
a pivotal component in the redevelopment of the Hunts Point community. Its main
course has been to simulate and directly develop a neighborhood. Its success
has been in fusing government assistance and the involvement of private resources
with its own community development plan, ideas, support and energies. It has
grown to be less reliant on government, and has positioned its own resources
in support of its daily existence.
Since
its inception, SEBCO has solely sponsored and/ or developed affordable housing
projects. SEBCO is responsible for the development and construction of over
6,000 new or rehabilitated housing units in approximately 450 buildings throughout
the South Bronx. It should also be noted that SEBCO operates two homeless shelters
under contract with the NYC Department of Homeless Services, (DHS) and two senior
citizen centers under contract with the NYC Department for the Aging, (DFTA).
Needless to say, SEBCO’s forty year legacy would not have been possible without the support and generous funding from many governmental agencies and foundations including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, (HPD), the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal, (DHCR), the NYS Housing Finance Agency, (HFA), the Enterprise Foundation (Enterprise) and the Local Initiative Support Corp. (LISC). Success has many parents!
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SEBCO
has grown from a small group of community activists into a sizable and sophisticated
development company with over 300 employees. From modest origins, SEBCO has
contributed greatly to the City of New York by providing jobs, commerce,
recreational facilities and of course, housing for its low and moderate-income
residents. SEBCO is rightfully proud of its record, its accomplishments and
its success in carrying out its mission of providing decent, safe and affordable
housing. SEBCO stands ready to continue its efforts and mission to better the
City of New York and the Bronx for another 40 years.
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