Blog

May

2018

24

Albany Drops the Ball on Community Development

A lot has been written about the shortcomings of New York’s recently-passed state budget. The upshot: New York’s electeds missed the clear opportunity to take decisive action against Trumpism and to protect communities under attack. A glaring example of this failure of leadership is the decision, yet again, not to fund a widely-supported program that invests in low-income communities and communities of color: the state’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.

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May

2018

23

No, Mr. Dimon, We Are Not Misinformed

Last week, New Economy Project traveled to Texas to attend JPMorgan Chase’s annual shareholder meeting and call the bank out for its shameful track record in New York City. After passing through a series of security checkpoints, we found seats with a clear view of the dais, on which sat Jamie Dimon, the bank’s C.E.O., who lorded over the proceedings.

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September

2017

8

Standing Up For DACA

NYC DREAMer Loan Fund recipients Luz, Lidia, Itzel, Dulce, Keisha, and Alex. Hear their stories. New Economy Project is outraged by Trump’s termination of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that since 2012 has provided protection from deportation, work permits, and other opportunities to more than 40,000 New Yorkers and 800,000 people around the […]

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April

2017

3

How One Obscure Regulator Is Unleashing a Predatory Lending Hellscape

Thomas J. Curry has only one week left as Comptroller of the Currency. But America’s chief regulator of national banks isn’t acting like it. Despite intense opposition from community advocates and conservatives alike, Curry, an Obama appointee, is doubling down on an ill-advised plan that would allow online lenders and other so-called fintech firms to rip people off.

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February

2017

27

Asleep at the Wheel: Why Does New York Let Car Insurance Companies Discriminate Against Drivers?

Car insurance is unaffordable to 5.2 million New Yorkers, according to a report just issued by the U.S. Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO). But car insurance is not only expensive for New Yorkers – its pricing is also fundamentally discriminatory. That’s because New York allows car insurance companies to consider factors like a person’s education and occupation in determining coverage – even though these factors bear no relation to a person’s actual driving record or to public safety more broadly.

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February

2017

9

NYC Seniors, Know Your Rights!

Here at New Economy Project we continue to actively reach out to senior organizations throughout New York City to raise awareness of unjust financial practices that affect low-income immigrant seniors and seniors of color, in particular. Our presentations provide seniors with vital know-your-rights information and tools to fight back, and we encourage them to call our hotline for free legal assistance on a host of financial justice matters.

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January

2017

11

WTFargo: How Bad Does a Bank Have to Be?

Yet another scandal may soon rock Wells Fargo. According to informed sources, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) — the federal agency that oversees Wells Fargo and the other large, national banks — is set to downgrade Wells Fargo’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating sometime this month.

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