Bronx Charter School Receives $15 Million in New Market Tax Credit Financing for Expansion

The New York City Regional Center has closed $15 million in New Market Tax Credit financing for the Charter School for Law and Social Justice in the Bronx, marking the eleventh charter school in New York City to receive funding from a New York City Regional Center-managed entity. This transaction represents a significant investment in educational infrastructure for the Morris Heights community and demonstrates the continued impact of federal tax credit programs in addressing capital gaps in low-income neighborhoods.

The financing utilizes a portion of a previous $45 million New Market Tax Credit award from the U.S. Department of Treasury to NYCR-CDE, a Community Development Entity managed by New York City Regional Center. The capital will support the renovation of a six-story, 39,417 square foot building that will house a new middle school accommodating 330 students and a community day care center operated by Sunshine Learning Center. The middle school facility will feature classrooms, a cafeteria, and double-height ceilings on part of the fifth and sixth floors for a multi-purpose gymnasium, while the day care center covering 8,916 square feet will serve approximately 160 children from infancy through kindergarten.

Additionally, the financing provides working capital reimbursements for the charter school's existing 47,300 square foot high school that serves 505 students. This comprehensive support furthers the charter school's mission to address the needs of underserved communities in the Bronx. Founded in 2015, the Charter School for Law and Social Justice provides an inclusive educational program that prepares students academically while empowering them to engage with social issues. The school was inspired by initiatives at New York Law School led by Professor Richard Marsico, whose work on the school-to-prison pipeline highlighted the need for educational institutions focused on law and social justice.

The New Market Tax Credit Program, established by Congress in 2000, aims to stimulate private investment and economic growth in low-income neighborhoods that historically lack access to capital. The program provides federal income tax credits to investors in exchange for equity investments in low-income communities, with the tax credit totaling 39 percent of the investment cost claimed over a seven-year period. Historically, for every $1 invested by the federal government, the New Market Tax Credit Program has generated $8 of private investment, with $81 billion invested in low-income communities since 2001 resulting in the construction or rehabilitation of approximately 259 million square feet of commercial real estate.

NYCR-CDE has received seven separate annual tax credit awards totaling $315 million since 2016, supporting various projects including the construction of the National Urban League's new headquarters in Harlem and redevelopment of the Major Owens Community Center in Brooklyn. The organization has also funded nine charter schools including $23 million for DREAM in the South Bronx and $20 million for Achievement First Linden Middle School in Brooklyn. The New York City Regional Center, approved by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2008, has deployed $1.58 billion of EB-5 capital and $315 million of New Market Tax Credit capital across 42 projects in New York City, supporting the construction of over 6.9 million square feet of development and critical infrastructure initiatives.