John Reilly is a lifetime Bronx resident who has been advancing affordable housing and community development for more than thirty years.
In the early 1980s, Bronx housing was being destroyed at an alarming rate. John and his neighbors founded the Fordham-Bedford Housing Corporation to assist tenant leaders in their battle to save their homes from deterioration and abandonment. John served as executive director of the organization from its founding until his retirement in 2022.
Today, the Fordham-Bedford Housing Corporation manages nearly 140 buildings with 4,000 affordable homes in New York City. The organization also supports women and children who experience homelessness at the Concourse House shelter.
John’s work at Fordham-Bedford Housing Corporation included the opening of Concourse House, a shelter for homeless women and children, and the founding of Fordham-Bedford Community Services, a subsidiary providing services to hundreds of families and their children. In 2007, John oversaw a landmark property acquisition to preserve the affordability of six privately held buildings with nearly 300 apartments, marking the first preservation project using the New York City Acquisition Fund. He was also proud to help open Jacob’s Place, a 63-unit green building named for community leader Astin Jacobo.
John’s vision for the next 40 years of affordable housing includes building a community where people flourish and support one another. He believes we need to tackle the challenges we face today in a variety of ways to meet our complex housing needs.
Prior to his work with Fordham-Bedford Housing Corporation, John was a community organizer with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition in the Bedford Park neighborhood. He is a lifetime resident of the Bronx and a graduate of Manhattan College. In 2003, he completed the Achieving Excellence in Community Development program at Harvard University.
John has served on the boards of several community and housing organizations including University Neighborhood Housing Program and serves as a trustee for the Academy of Mt. St. Ursula. He has served on the Enterprise Community Leadership Council and as a trustee for the Northwest and South Bronx Catholic School Region.
