Bridge Street Development Corporation (BSDC) is a faith-based, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization whose mission is to build partnerships with businesses, government, and other community stakeholders to provide civic and economic opportunities to the residents of Central Brooklyn. Our vision is to preserve Bedford-Stuyvesant as a desirable neighborhood for raising families, owning businesses and taking part in rich cultural, spiritual and recreational opportunities. Our motto, “Building on Community Strength,” describes our core belief that the most effective way to improve a community is to develop and promote local assets, including people, homes, businesses, and organizations. Bridge Street Development Corporation was founded in 1995 by members of the oldest continuing African-American congregation in Brooklyn: the Bridge Street African Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church. The church was incorporated in 1818, and traces its roots to 1766, when Captain Thomas Webb, a British convert of John Wesley, began holding open-air services in downtown Brooklyn.