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Roy Cosme, ext. 11 or rcosme@arcos-ny.com
Marie Denise Jean-Louis, ext. 16 or mjeanlouis@arcos-ny.com

Mid-Bronx Desperadoes (MBD) Community Housing Corporation Announces
Peter M. Williams as President and CEO
 
New York, NY – February 4, 2008 -- The Board of Directors of the Mid-Bronx Desperadoes (MBD) Community Housing Corporation has appointed Peter M. Williams, age 48, as its new President and Chief Executive Officer.  Previously, Mr. Williams was the Vice President for the School of Continuing Education and Community Programs at Medgar Evers College where he oversaw the college's adult educational development, youth development, and workforce development classes and programs.  Mr. Williams was also the Director of Housing and Community Economic Development for the National Urban League (NUL), where he directed several of the league’s major initiatives throughout the country. 

With his 20 plus years of housing and community development experience, he has set four priorities for his administration at MBD: upgrading properties, improving communications, enhancing services and providing a safe living place for the residents.
 
Danny Simms, MBD’s Chairman of the Board, said, “MBD is an organization with a strong legacy, on the verge of creating an equally vibrant future with the leadership of Peter Williams.  We selected Peter for the position because his life and career path match the mission of our organization.”
 
Mr. Williams is currently working on a new initiative to offer free tax preparation services for residents of Crotona Park East so that they can take advantage of the Early Income Tax Credit.  “Too many people are abused by tax preparers,” he says. “MBD is here to serve the tenants; without them, there wouldn’t be an MBD.  I want to develop new services and programs that can provide better housing, business and employment opportunities for our residents.''

Raised in the public housing of Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, Mr. Williams attended elementary and high school in Fort Greene-Clinton Hill. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Arizona State University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from American University.  He is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and lives with wife, civil rights attorney Jacqueline Berrien, in Bedford Stuyvesant.    

 About MBD
MBD was founded in 1974 as a coalition of volunteers determined to save their community from the overwhelming incidence of arson, disinvestment, abandonment and population loss that had decimated the Crotona Park East section of Bronx Community District 3.  MBD has successfully sponsored, constructed and renovated over 1,200 units of housing, which it currently manages, and has expanded its role in the community as a provider of critical health, social, and human services for its residents.  With a wide-range of linkages with community and public agencies in the borough, city and state, MBD is a unique organization and remains the primary driver of community and economic development projects in the Crotona Park East neighborhood.

MBD COMMUNITY HOUSING CORPORATION, Inc.
1762 Boston Road, Bronx, NY 10460
Tele: (718) 842-0256 | Fax: (718) 542- 7694

Copyright 2008
All Rights Reserved