Laura Levine-Pinedo appointed interim executive director of KRVC Development Corp.
Congratulations are in order for Laura Levine-Pinedo, who was officially announced as the interim executive director of the Kingsbridge-Riverdale-Van Cortlandt Development Corp on her first day, July 1.
“It feels organic,” Levine-Pinedo said. “There’s a sense of joy now that the work we do has a place that we officially can call home.”
KRVC’s chief financial officer and development director, Shari Hall, said the vote to elect Levine-Pinedo to fill the role was an easy one.
“She’s young and energetic and had a lot of ideas, and we loved her 4Bronx programming,” Hall said. “It just made sense.”
Hall said running a nonprofit isn’t easy, but Levine-Pinedo seemed to have both her work with 4Bronx Project and the KRVC under control.
Levine-Pinedo has worked with the KRVC since 2020. She began working with her predecessor, Tracy Shelton, on a project for merchants on Bailey Avenue, which became the Bailey Avenue Merchants Business Alliance.
The 4Bronx Project is Levine-Pinedo’s creation, which began out of her love for the Bronx and her love for her grandmother, who raised her in apartment 4B. She now works directly with four Bronx shelters and brings resources and entertainment to families throughout the borough. Her work includes the creation of a podcast, 4Bronx Comunitea — on which she interviews Bronx businesses owners and locals — organizing Riverdale Pride every year for the local LGBTQIA+ community, hosting workshops for business owners to learn about resources, karaoke and organizing Riverdale Small Business Week.
“Small businesses are the lifeline of any community and I really want to bring resources to small business owners here in Riverdale,” Levine-Pinedo said.
She said she is excited for her new role because she gets to merge her work with both organizations to hopefully reach a larger audience. She said her work is grassroots, targeting the everyday people of her community, because she wants to involve as many local people as she can.
“KRVC is the machine and I think this machine will drive the work we have done and will continue to do,” Levine-Pinedo said. “I think it’s just the perfect relationship.”
Current KRVC programming includes clothing and shoe drives, arts-in-the-park events and live music events — much of which overlaps with 4Bronx Project programs. One of the organization’s biggest yearly events is Boo! On Mosholu, which has businesses along Mosholu Avenue participate passing out treats to trick-or-treaters who walk the block.
Levine-Pinedo said she is looking to merge with P.S. 81’s Halloween trunk-or-treat event to create an even larger night for the community, a joint venture will need the help of Levine-Pinedo’s first hire for KRVC, art director Nina Velaquez.
Velazquez will be the organization’s art director, in charge of curating artwork and finding artists for Gallery 505, located at the nonprofit’s headquarters. Velazquez is currently the parent coordinator for P.S. 81 Robert J. Christen School. Levine-Pinedo said the decision to hire her unites Riverdale as Velazquez is also involved and well known in the community.
Currently, Gallery 505 will swap out the work of local artists every three months, but Levine-Pinedo and Velasquez are looking to swap every two months in order to give more artists space to display their work. Currently, Librado “Lee” Romero is set to fill the gallery space next with his art installation, opening July 11 and running through September 6, and Velazquez is on the hunt for the next artist to fill the walls.
As far as what’s to come for KRVC Levine-Pinedo said she won’t share too much for fear of ruining the surprise, but she is planning an art festival to be held in Riverdale in November.
Keywords
Laura Levine-Pinedo, KRVC Development Corp, interim executive director, Riverdale nonprofit, community development, Bronx small businesses, 4Bronx Project, Shari Hall, Riverdale Pride, Gallery 505, Bronx arts festival
