SOLEDAD: NEW YORK IS A TALE OF TWO CITIES. WHILE IT’S ONE OF THE RICHEST CITIES IN THE WORLD, IT’S ALSO HOME TO SOME OF THE POOREST COMMUNITIES. THE BRONX IS ONE OF THE CITY’S FIVE BOROUGHS. LATINO, BLACK, AND ASIAN RESIDENTS MAKE UP ALMOST 90% OF THE POPULATION. IN THE BRONX, YOU’LL FIND MAJOR HOSPITALS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, AND, OF COURSE, THE NEW YORK YANKEES. DESPITE THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT FLOW IN AND OUT OF THE BRONX, THERE ARE LARGE AREAS WHERE HEALTHY FOOD IS SCARCE, INCOMES ARE LOW, AND RENT IS HIGH. CORRESPONDENT ALEXIS CLARK VISITED THE BRONX TO TALK TO PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO LIFT THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS OUT OF POVERTY. YAJAIRA: WE ARE A FAMILY OF UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS FROM OAXACA, MEXICO. WE MIGRATED IN HOPES OF A BETTER FUTURE. AND WE OPENED A RESTAURANT BY PULLING ALL OF OUR FAMILY’S RESOURCES TOGETHER, BECAUSE WE WERE TIRED OF GETTING EXPLOITED. ALEXIS: YAJAIRA SAAVREDA AND HER FAMILY RUN LA MORADA, A MEXICAN RESTAURANT IN THE SOUTH BRONX THAT OPENED IN 2009. WHEN YOU WALK AROUND THE BRONX, YOU REALLY DON’T SEE A LOT OF FRESH MARKETS AND GROCERY STORES. YOU DESCRIBE IT AS A FOOD APARTHEID. YAJAIRA: WE HAVE ONE OF THE BIGGEST FOOD MARKETS IN THE NATION. AND WHAT WE SEE IS TRUCKS OF FOOD JUST LEAVING THE SOUTH BRONX AND GOING INTO THE WEALTHIER PART OF THE CITY. ALEXIS: ACCORDING TO THE FOOD BANK OF NEW YORK, NEARLY 1.1 MILLION NEW YORK CITY RESIDENTS ARE FOOD INSECURE. THAT IS AROUND 12% OF THE CITY’S POPULATION. AND THE LACK OF FOOD ACCESSIBILITY HAS BEEN MAGNIFIED BY COVID. YAJAIRA: WE HAD FOLKS WHO NEEDED A HOT PLATE OF FOOD, JUST COME IN AND LINE UP AROUND THE RESTAURANT. AND EVERY SINGLE DAY, OUR FOOD LINE JUST, LIKE, DOUBLED. SO, A FRIEND OF OURS OPENED A GOFUNDME, AND THEY RAISED $45,000 WITHIN THE FIRST WEEK, AND THAT WAS ENOUGH FOR US TO CONTINUE MAKING SOUPS. ALEXIS: THE SAAVEDRAS STARTED WHAT THEY CALL A MUTUAL AID KITCHEN, WHICH PROVIDES FREE MEALS AND DELIVERS TO SHELTERS AND CHURCHES. THEY SPEND THEIR OWN MONEY BUYING INGREDIENTS FROM LOCAL STREET VENDORS AND FARMERS IN UPSTATE NEW YORK AND RELY ON DONATIONS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS. BUT THEIR GRASSROOTS EFFORTS ARE NOT ENOUGH TO HELP THE COMMUNITY GAIN A FOOTHOLD IN THE ECONOMY. MICHAEL: I THINK THE BRONX, A STORY OF MISSED INVESTMENT AND ALSO DISINVESTMENT. IT’S A SYSTEM OF SYSTEMIC RACISM, NOT OF PEOPLE’S BEHAVIORS AND CHOICES. ALEXIS: MICHAEL PARTIS IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE BRONX COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, A NONPROFIT THAT PROMOTES WEALTH-BUILDING FOR LOW-INCOME PEOPLE OF COLOR. YOUR MISSION IS TO CREATE ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? MICHAEL: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY IS RACIAL JUSTICE. AND WHEN RACIAL JUSTICE MEETS COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP, WE SEE COMMUNITY WEALTH BUILDING. ALEXIS: NEW YORK, AS WE KNOW, IS A VERY WEALTHY CITY. BUT THE BRONX IS THE POOREST COUNTY IN NEW YORK STATE. WHY IS THERE SUCH GENERATIONAL POVERTY? MICHAEL: PEOPLE WHO OWN AN ASSET, WHO ARE ABLE TO TAKE THAT HOUSING AND TURN IT INTO LIQUID OR INTO EQUITY, THEY’RE ABLE TO GROW. THEY BORROW AGAINST IT TO SEND THEIR KIDS TO COLLEGE. THEY BORROW AGAINST IT TO BUY SECOND PROPERTIES. WHEN WE RENT, WE OFTEN DON’T HAVE THAT. ALEXIS: THE BCDI IS ONE OF MORE THAN 1000 NONPROFITS IN THE BRONX, BUT PARTIS SAYS THEY CAN’T DO IT ALONE. ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE TO SHARE IN THE RESPONSIBILITY. MICHAEL: WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS LOCAL GOVERNMENT AT THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL, THE COUNTY LEVEL, AND THE STATE LEVEL ALL WORK TOGETHER TOWARDS BRINGING THE TYPE OF LARGE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT THAT THE BRONX NEEDS. ALEXIS: WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE NUMBERS. ACTIVISM AND VOTING PARTICIPATION REMAINS LOW. MICHAEL: SOME OF WHAT LEADS TO VOTER DISENGAGEMENT IS WHEN PEOPLE HAVE SEEN PUBLIC POLICY AND LEGISLATION NOT MEET THEIR NEEDS. THERE’S A MORAL AND ECONOMIC ARGUMENT TO PRIORITIZE THOSE WHO HAVE NOT ONLY THE GREATEST NEED, BUT THOSE WHO ARE PROVEN TO HAVE THE MOST VALUE. OUR BRONX RESIDENTS BRING A LOT OF VALUE. THEY JUST HAVE BEEN UNDERINVESTED IN. ALEXIS: THE SAAVEDRA FAMILY KNOWS FIRSTHAND HOW CRITICAL INVESTMENT IS IN THEIR COMMUNITY. SO YOU HAD A GOFUNDME. YAJAIRA: YEAH. ALEXIS: AND HELP FROM THE COMMUNITY. BUT AS AN UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT, YOU’RE NOT ABLE TO VOTE. WHAT POSITION DOES THAT PUT YOU IN? YAJAIRA: WE KNOW THAT FOOD INSECURITY IS ALSO A CAUSE OF GENTRIFICATION. PEOPLE CAN’T AFFORD TO MEET THEIR BASIC NEEDS. SO WE’RE GOING TO CONTINUE PUSHING AND HOLDING OUR ELECTIVE ACCOUNTABLE, BECAUSE WE’RE STILL PART OF THEIR CONSTITUENTS. ALEXIS: I’M ALEXIS CLARK F