1967
Brooklyn
New York
BSRC was founded by Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Mayor John Lindsay, Senator Jacob Javitz, and Justice Thomas R. Jones to respond to the potential unrest of 1966 after the Watts Rebellion by creating the first community development corporation. BSRC was staffed by representatives of the Bedford-Stuyvesant community, and used both corporate and philanthropic funds to work on projects ranging from economic development to structural rehabilitation. The BSRC remains in operation, having attracted over a half billion dollars in investment to Central Brooklyn, placing over 20,000 Brooklynites in jobs, and providing financing assistance to over 1,500 homeowners.