Press Releases

May

2023

25

New Yorkers Demand a Public Bank at First-Ever Hearing on Banks Eligible to Hold Billions in NYC Deposits

Dozens of New Yorkers representing community groups across the city testified today at the first-ever public hearing before the NYC Banking Commission on the designation of banks eligible to hold municipal deposits. A familiar refrain at the hearing was the call for a public bank to hold city funds and reinvest in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color that the big banks routinely fail to serve.

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May

2023

17

110+ Groups Call on Mayor and City Council Speaker to Address Affordability Crisis in Wake of State Inaction on Housing

A coalition of 113 community and affordable housing groups delivered a letter to New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Mayor Eric Adams, urging them to take bold and immediate action to address the city’s affordability crisis. Citing the state’s failure to strengthen tenant protections or pass other housing justice measures in the recent budget, the letter calls on City leaders to enact the Community Land Act – a set of bills to bring land and housing into permanently-affordable community control, through community land trusts (CLTs) and other nonprofit social housing models.

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May

2023

2

Groups, Electeds Hold Press Conference at NYS Capitol Calling for Enactment of New York Public Banking Act

As the NYS Legislature turns its attention to its post-budget priorities, community and labor groups called on Albany lawmakers to enact the New York Public Banking Act (S1754/A3352) this legislative session. The bill, sponsored by Senate Banks Committee Chair James Sanders Jr. and Assembly Banks Committee Chair Pamela J. Hunter, creates a safe and appropriate regulatory framework for local public banking.

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April

2023

19

City Council Holds Hearing on Creating a New York City Public Bank 

The New York City Council Committee on Finance held a hearing today on a series of bills, collectively dubbed “The People’s Bank Act,” to create a public bank in New York City. A public bank will enable the city to leverage its immense financial resources toward advancing economic security and shared prosperity for all New Yorkers. Public banks around the world, including the century-old Bank of North Dakota, have a strong track record of making equitable investments, providing high-quality financial services to underserved neighborhoods, and building community wealth.

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March

2023

17

Community and Labor Groups Raise Alarm Over Latest Financial Crisis, Urge Lawmakers to Adopt Public Banking

In response to the banking crisis sending shockwaves through the economy, a statewide coalition delivered a letter to NYS Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie urging passage of the New York Public Banking Act to “give local governments a sorely-needed ‘public option’ for holding public deposits.” The bill would create a safe and appropriate regulatory framework for public banks – financial institutions created by local governments and chartered to serve the public interest.

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