Promised Land

As organizers mentioned in Audrea Lim’s essay on community land trusts [“We Shall Not Be Moved,” Report, July], we wanted to expand on why we have pursued this model. Mott Haven–Port Morris, where we live, is a vibrant neighborhood in the South Bronx, both a cradle of arts and culture and a survivor of decades of neglect, environmental injustice, and insidious, top-down decisions involving public land use. Under the premise of economic development, public land in our community has been zoned for noxious waste-treatment facilities and fossil-fuel power plants, while a highway system has callously divided neighbors. Following…