Rep. Ritchie Torres secures $3.15M to replace aging pipes at Concourse Village – Bronx Times

The investment will fund a massive overhaul of deteriorating water and sewer infrastructure throughout the development, which has experienced reocurring flooding, water damage and service disruptions caused by decades-old pipes.

Since 2019, Torres has directed more than $11.25 million in federal funding to Concourse Village. The latest allocation was among 15 projects submitted by his office through the Community Project Funding process for fiscal year 2026.

Speaking outside the development on Juneteenth, Torres described Concourse Village as a unique piece of Bronx housing history and a “bedrock” of Black homeownership in the borough. Built and financed by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America in the 1960s, the Mitchell-Lama cooperative remains one of the largest affordable housing developments in the South Bronx. 

“If there were ever a housing co-op that is of working people, by working people and for working people, it is Concourse Village,” Torres said.

Torres said the funding is about more than replacing pipes. He framed the investment as a long-term commitment to preserving affordable homeownership opportunities for future generations of Bronx residents, noting the development’s importance as a center of Black homeownership in the South Bronx.’’

“Concourse Village has endured for more than 60 years, and we have to ensure that it endures for the next 60 years and beyond,” he said.

For residents and board members, the funding represents another step in a long time effort to modernize a complex that first opened in 1964.

“There’s a whole lot of work to be done here at Concourse Village,” said Board President Rosetta Kirkland, who has lived in the development for 27 years. “We are grateful for the different allocations of funding we’re receiving from elected officials.”

Board member David Lisbon said aging infrastructure remains one of the development’s biggest challenges, requiring constant maintenance and costly upgrades. Recent projects have included replacing all 18 elevators, repairing balconies and facades, restoring common areas and bringing buildings into compliance with city requirements.

Despite the challenges, Lisbon said Concourse Village has continued to invest in improvements that benefit residents and would like to eventually restore their playground.

“People like Ritchie Torres, and the attention he has given to our needs, have been instrumental in helping us move forward,” Lisbon said. “We’re still moving forward — forward, never backward.”