New York City, NY (October 5, 2006) — The Mosholu Preservation Corporation (MPC), established by Montefiore Medical Center a quarter century ago, celebrated its 25 years of community-building with a gala at the recently refurbished Loew's Paradise Theatre on the evening of October 5.

"It is most fitting that we celebrate 25 years of revitalizing the Bronx at our borough's beautifully restored jewel, the Loew's Paradise," said MPC President Dart Westphal. "It has been our effort over the past 25 years to keep the Norwood section of the Bronx a jewel of a place to live and work."

Also honored at the event for their commitment to the Bronx were former and current Bronx Borough presidents Fernando Ferrer and Adolfo Carrion.

MPC, a national model for community preservation and development in an urban setting, was founded in 1981 to help combat neighborhood deterioration in the Norwood section of the Bronx. As the largest employer and healthcare provider in the Bronx, Montefiore Medical Center recognized that healthcare means not just treating illness but improving the quality of life for all its constituencies. Montefiore, already a nationally respected academic medical center at the time, made a commitment to help revive its neighborhood and make it a vital place in which to live and work.

Today, 25 years later, MPC is carrying on that mission on many fronts, with innovative programs for economic and community development, housing restoration, and beautification programs. It also works with and supports a number of community programs covering a wide range of activities, including business development, education and recreation programs, job training and conservation. Among MPC's many successes have been the creation of the nation's first "safe house" for victims of lead poisoning, the conversion of an abandoned synagogue into the Nathan Strauss Community Center, and the rehabilitation of the 1920s-era Lenru apartment building for cooperative housing.

Other highlights include the publication of Norwood News, a catalyst for community betterment, and the innovative solution to a decade-long battle between the New York Botanical Garden and Fordham University by offering to place Fordham's WFUV radio station antenna atop the Montefiore Apartments building.