We're breaking ground on the HEArts Center
Fifteen years ago, neighbors started meeting to ask what should happen to the vacant building at 349 East 140th Street. Since then, South Bronx residents have come together to create a vision, founded a community land trust, secured a lease on the building, and raised funding to bring The HEArts Center to life.
This September, construction begins.
Official Ceremony: Wednesday, September 23rd at 11am.
The ceremonial groundbreaking, with the Mott Haven–Port Morris Community Land Stewards, South Bronx Unite, Alembic Community Development, NYC Health + Hospitals, NYCEDC, elected officials, and community partners.
Community Celebration: Saturday, September 26th from 1-6pm
Join us to celebrate with music, food, and community.
The HEArts Center Belongs to All of Us
Land has always determined power. From slavery to redlining, who owns land has decided who gets a say. For decades, decisions about the land we live on, work on, and raise our children on have been made for us, by people with no stake in this neighborhood.
The average median income here is $22,471. Forty-nine percent of our children live in poverty.
We’re building the HEArts Center in response to this community’s needs. After years of meeting with neighbors like you, three needs stood out.
Health. Holistic health. The HEArts Center will host an array of practitioners, from massage therapists to acupuncturists.
Education. HEArts will include workforce development for green jobs, thanks to our partner Green City Force.
Arts. Arts programming at HEArts will include music instruction through our partners like Upbeat NYC.
The Mott Haven-Port Morris Community Land Stewards (The Land Stewards) is our community land trust. Residents established it as an independent 501(c)(3) to acquire land for public use and hold it in perpetuity, so that community members keep a stake in our own neighborhood.
The Land Stewards now hold the 99-year lease on 349 East 140th Street.
When we say the HEArts Center belongs to the community, we mean it legally. The land trust holds it.
About the HEArts Center
The $44 million HEArts Center will transform the long-vacant former Lincoln Recovery Center into a community-led hub for health, education, workforce development, and the arts, and is expected to open in late 2028.
This groundbreaking is more than the start of construction. It marks the culmination of more than 15 years of resident organizing and leadership, and a community land trust model of equitable development that brings together community vision, public investment, and nonprofit and private partnership.
The Center will include:
A 120-seat retractable auditorium for performances, rehearsals, and orchestral programming
Clinical and wellness space for holistic and preventive health services
Classrooms and meeting rooms for education and workforce development
A commercial kitchen focused on healthy food and culinary education
Affordable office and shared space for community-based organizations
Affordable space for health and wellness practitioners
