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BRONX TIMES REPORTER,24 JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 6, 2020 BTR
Lourdes Zapata poses for the camera at the 21st annual Bronx Business Opportunities Expo
at the Metropolitian College of New York back in September. Zapata was appointed CEO/
President at SoBro, an economic development corporation back in August.
Photo courtesy of Lourdes Zapata
First Latina woman to head
major Bronx development NFP
BY KYLE VUILLE
A Bronx native was named the
fi rst Latina woman to head the South
Bronx Economic Development Corporation,
otherwise known as SoBro.
Lourdes Zapata, 54, who originally
hailed from Prospect and East 156th
Street has returned to her home borough.
She took SoBro’s leadership reins
in August of 2019, She has a long history
working with other nonprofi t organizations.
Zapata was a director of community
development in 1997 and worked
on several major affordable housing
developments in the south Bronx and
Harlem.
After moving to the suburbs, Zapata
further honed her skills in Newburgh
as a community development director
and then returned to SoBro for a
second time.
Before accepting her third SoBro
stint Zapata worked as a chief diversity
offi cer, which she said has helped
with her role as CEO at SoBro.
“When the former CEO stepped
down, they asked me once again if I
would be interested in returning to So-
Bro,” Zapata said.
Since her return to SoBro, Zapata
said she has been getting back to living
and working in the Bronx.
“It’s been a lot of reintroducing
myself to the community and putting
my ear to the ground,” Zapata said. “I
want to get my Bronx game on.”
Zapata has lots of plans for the future
and has been working strategically
to put the Bronx where it should
be developmentally and economically.
She explained that during the 50
years that SoBro has been in business,
the corporation’s objectives are to look
at things like community development,
business programming, workforce
issues amongst others.
“We’re not just trying to provide
a service,” Zapata said. “We’re interested
in providing the best quality service.”
Zapata said she plans to strengthen
partnerships, reestablish partnerships
and support all the great things
going on.
She touched on examining redevelopment
and housing in the area as
well. She is astonished at the growth
in the number of emerging artists and
musicians in the area.
With regards to her position at an
economic development fi rm, as well
as coming from an low-income family,
she has taken a neutral stance between
community growth and gentrifi
cation.
She made reference to the gentrifi -
cation that happened in Brooklyn over
the past ten years, where people who
work in Manhattan, pushed out lower
income families.
“Growth is a good thing, but it
needs to be responsible,” Zapata said.
“We have an opportunity to avoid
those problems if we do it the right
way, we need to listen to the dialogue
and the social discourse.”
She emphasized there’s a need for
luxury housing and low-income housing.
“There’s room for it all,” Zapata
added.
Though she deals with the complexities
of the community, Zapata mentioned
a bumper sticker she has in her
offi ce that says, ‘You’re always from
the Bronx.”
“There’s a certain pride in the borough,
and that’s part of the reason I
enjoy working at SoBro,” Zapata said.
“And I’m honored to play an integral
role in all the great things we’re going
through and I’m excited to see those
advancements.”
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