Category Archives: About Us

Board & Staff

Board of Directors

Carol Lamberg (Board Chair) was Executive Director of the Settlement Housing Fund from 1983 until she retired in 2014. At that time Settlement Housing Fund had produced over 8,700 apartments in 55 developments, owning 26 buildings with 1,721 apartments in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Harlem, Washington Heights and lower Manhattan. These are mostly mixed-income buildings, occupied by families whose incomes range from public assistance levels to about $85,000. The developments often include community amenities and programs.  As former Staff Director of the New York Housing Conference, Ms. Lamberg drafted amendments to Federal, State and local statutes. She has written two books, in addition to articles for housing and architectural journals, op-ed articles, and has testified before legislative bodies, commissions and government agencies. She is a graduate of Radcliffe College and was also a Loeb Fellow at Harvard.

Debbie Leung (Treasurer) has worked in the Two Bridges community for 40+ years as a Housing Advocate and Community Organizer. As a 7A-Administrator, she served as a Tenant representative to secure basic building services such as heat, hot water, reportviolations. She championed the rights of the neighborhood tenants by working with landlords, building owners, community directors, and public officials. Debbie remains a public servant and community leader who supports public housing residents by providing translation, senior, food and other social services.

Jerrod Delaine (Board Member) is an experienced Real Estate Developer, with a skill set that includes Design, Construction, Finance, Affordable Housing, and Asset Management.  His current focus is utilizing access to capital markets and improving communities through real estate finance and edevelopment. Jerrod has a Bachelor’s Degree and Bachelors of Arts Degree in Architecture from Florida A & M University School of Architecture and Environmental Technology. He has a Master of Science degree from New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate.

Tony Giorgio (Board Member) is a graduate of Brooklyn College (NYC) and possesses undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Education. Tony was hired by the Consolidated Edison Company of New York upon graduation, working in various management positions of higher responsibility. Tony worked at Con Edison for 32 years before moving on to his own energy consulting firm, Integrated Energy Partners in 2006. He possesses over 45 years of experience in the energy and utility business, interacting with industry peers and executives of commercial and industrial customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic and National regions.

Wynne Leung Kim (Secretary) is a digital product executive at Memorial Sloan Kettering with 20+ years experience driving digital technology transformation. Specializing in data strategy and analytics, she is passionate about bringing digital ideas to life across healthcare, science, nonprofit, payments, and media. Wynne also serves as Board President at Hamilton-Madison House, Board Director at Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, and volunteer for NYC Urban Debate League.

William Wang (Board Member) is a dedicated and accomplished leader in retail and small banking for over 18 years. William has been a consistent top performer in his career and worked in multiple financial institutions holding various positions in banking. He started as a part-time Banking Associate while attending Brooklyn college. When he completed his Bchelor’s Degree in Business, Management, and Finance, he continued his career in retail banking with the focus in servicing customers and the community as a Personal Banker, Business Banker, Branch Manager, and his current position as a Senior Branch Manager. His greatest passion is mentoring and developing youth to guide them through the challenges in life and building their careers.

Ditashiah Kohn (President/Executive Director) joined Two Bridges in July 2020 as Deputy Director and was appointed the new TBNC President in February 2024. She guides the mission and vision of Two Bridges Neighborhood Council in collaboration with senior staff and oversees the general operations of TBNC including its programs. In her former position at Settlement Housing Fund she was the Director of the YouthBuild programs. YouthBuild programs in the United States and across the globe sponsors low-income young people to learn construction skills to help build affordable housing and other community assets such as community centers and schools. She was responsible for the establishment of YouthBuild programs, (D.R.E.A.M.S) in Crown Heights in Brooklyn and New Settlement Apartments YouthBuild in the Bronx.  She also Launched and supervised a behind the walls reentry program at Rikers Correctional Facility and collaborated with governmental, social services, business, community representatives and parents to promote program initiatives. Her educational background includes: Hunter College School of Social Work: Seminar in Field Instruction, January 2008, Adelphi University: Master of Social Work, May 2001, Teacher’s College, Columbia University: Certified Adkins Life Skills Educator, July 2004, Morgan State University: Bachelor of Science Degree, Social Work, May 1996, Senatorial Scholarship 1996, John Dewey High School, Academic Diploma, 1991, Academic Scholarship, New York Regents Scholarship Award.

Staff

Anthony Yeung, Director of Youth Programs, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and Marketing. A native Lower East Sider, he has much proven experience in supervising after-school, summer camp and youth athletic programs. He has coordinated numerous cultural events and athletic tournaments, including drug and alcohol prevention workshops for youth.

Francine Jean, Director of Development & Communications, joined Two Bridges in April 2015 and manages grant administration, fundraising, & marketing/communications in close collaboration with Two Bridges executive leadership. In 2016, Francine joined the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, NYC Community Health Fellows program where she learned how to apply quality improvement methods to community work.   Prior to joining Two Bridges, Francine worked directly with low-income youth and families in Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Maryland. In partnership with public schools and community partners she developed youth programs that helped young people access resources for college, mental health services, and future career pathways.  With an improvement approach to her work, she developed performance management tools that helped organizations better achieve their programmatic outcomes. Francine holds a B.A. in Human Services and double minor in Psychology and Sociology from Villanova University

Kenyatta Turner-Childs, Director of Administration, joined Two Bridges in September 2021. Kenyatta has progressed her career as a Director of Administration at TBNC, where she reinforces continuous performance improvement processes and evaluates organizational performance to identify gaps, implement corrective actions, align operations, and achieve organizational objectives. In her former position at Settlement Housing Fund as the Human Resources Administrator, she was responsible for supervising the areas of performance management, employee relations, benefits, compensation, and compliance. She holds a Master of Public Affairs & Administration and a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Tevi Eber, Director of Two Bridges Music, is a composer, performer, multi-instrumentalist, conductor, and arranger.  He has twice been nominated for the 2016 and 2017 award in music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a highly prestigious organization whose members include musical luminaries such as John Corigliano and Stephen Sondheim. Additionally, Tevi was recently named the winner of the Gregg Smith National Choral Composition Competition for his choral setting of Robert Frost’s “Fragmentary Blue”. He has received fellowships from The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, The Wintergreen Music Festival and Academy, The Atlantic Music Festival, and the Seal Bay Festival of Chamber Music. As an educator, Tevi has taught all levels from Pre K-College, and is a firm believer in the merits of arts education. Originally from Miami, FL, Tevi graduated with a Master’s degree in composition from Syracuse University. 

History

For more than half a century, Two Bridges Neighborhood Council’s programs, projects, and activities have nurtured the unique character of the Lower East Side by building bridges among its diverse communities. 

Two Bridges Neighborhood Council was founded in 1955, in the working-class neighborhood of Manhattan bordered by the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and the East River. At that time tensions were high and gang violence was common, as the area was becoming one of the city’s first racially integrated neighborhoods. Two Bridges was created to resolve racial conflicts and to serve as a channel for communication among settlement houses, churches, and community leaders. 

Community planning became a focus of Two Bridges starting in the 1960s, when AT&T was planning to demolish a large block of residential houses on Madison Street to make way for a huge telephone switching station. The demolition would have forced hundreds of low-income families from their homes. Two Bridges hired its first social worker, organized the community, and worked out a plan to save the houses by moving the switching station to a commercial, non-residential location. 

By the early 1970s, the mission of Two Bridges evolved to focus on both neighborhood preservation and the creation of affordable housing. In partnership with Settlement Housing Fund, Two Bridges co-sponsored the redevelopment of the Two Bridges Urban Renewal Area, formerly a district of tenements and dilapidated commercial buildings along the East River Waterfront between the Manhattan Bridge and Corlear’s Hook, starting in 1972.

Between 1972 and 1997, when the last building in the urban renewal area was completed, Two Bridges succeeded in creating nearly 1,500 units of low- and moderate-income housing, much of which will remain permanently affordable. Two Bridges continues to seek opportunities to develop more affordable housing at a time when it is more essential than ever. 

Additionally, through an extensive array of programs and strategic partnerships, Two Bridges continues to support and promote a vibrant residential, business, and cultural life of the section of Lower Manhattan corresponding roughly to the boundaries of Community Board 3, and the eastern sections of Community Board 2. This service area encompasses many neighborhoods, across the Lower East Side, including Two Bridges, Chinatown, Little Italy, Nolita, the East Village, the Bowery Corridor and the East River Waterfront.

Mission

Two Bridges Neighborhood Council has been dedicated to serving the many neighborhoods of Manhattan’s Lower East Side since 1954. We create equitable housing, celebrate cultural diversity through neighborhood-based programs, and work together with local residents, businesses, entrepreneurs, and leaders to stimulate and maintain economic vitality. Two Bridges is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation registered with the State of New York.

About Us

Two Bridges serves the residential, commercial, and cultural life of Manhattan’s Lower East Side through community-based programs and strategic partnerships. Our service area includes the economically, culturally, and ethnically diverse neighborhoods of Two Bridges, Chinatown and the Lower East Side.

As it has for over a century-and-a half of immigration, the demographic composition of the Lower East Side varies widely across all neighborhoods. In spite of the recent wave of gentrification transforming many parts of the Lower East Side, tens of thousands of working-class and low- to moderate-income individuals and families—many with deep roots in the neighborhood, and others just arriving—still call the Lower East Side home. Two Bridges serves the community by creating affordable housing, advocating for improvements related to quality of life, providing access to social services, education and recreation programs, providing access to technology, and engaging residents in the public, political and planning processes that impact the community in which they live and work.