Press Releases

October

2020

1

Federal Court Certifies Class Action Lawsuit Alleging NYC Transit Authority Seized Tax Refunds to Collect on Decades-Old Default Judgments, Violating Due Process

Yesterday, a federal judge certified a class action charging the NYC Transit Authority, an arm of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), with systemic due process violations. The civil rights lawsuit challenges the Transit Authority’s unlawful seizures of New Yorkers’ state tax refunds to collect on default judgments—some going back 20 years or more—without providing legally-required notice or a fair opportunity to contest the judgments.

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August

2020

3

News Release: NYC and Rochester Council Members Join 55 Groups in Urging Albany to Support Public Banks

Fifteen Members of the NYC Council delivered a letter last week urging the NYS Legislature to pass the New York Public Banking Act (S.5565-C/A.9665-D), a groundbreaking bill that creates a pathway for New York cities, counties and regions to form public banks—financial institutions established by local governments and chartered to serve the public interest.

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May

2020

8

1,000+ New Yorkers Gather for Urgent Town Hall Calling for Public Banking to Ensure a Just COVID-19 Recovery

New York, NY – Yesterday, a broad coalition of community, labor, cooperative, environmental and economic justice groups convened a virtual town hall highlighting public banking as an essential strategy for ensuring a just COVID-19 recovery. The timely event, entitled “From Crisis to Recovery: NY’s Fight for Public Banking,” engaged more than 1,000 New Yorkers  and featured presentations by NYC-based movement leaders and guest Kali Akuno of Cooperation Jackson.

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April

2020

21

Shareholders Charge Citibank with Exacerbating the COVID-19 Crisis and Fueling Climate Change, at Annual Meeting

At Citigroup’s “2020 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting” today, New Economy Project will confront Citi executives about the bank’s undisclosed funding of corporate lobbying by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry associations. The group will challenge Citi for supporting destructive lobbying agendas that further jeopardize public health during the COVID-19 crisis and that fuel climate change – directly contradicting Citi’s public statements in these areas and harming frontline communities, in particular.

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April

2020

20

Statement on Attorney General James’ Guidance Blocking Banks And Debt Collectors From Garnishing Stimulus Checks

“We applaud Attorney General James for issuing strong guidance making clear that emergency stimulus payments authorized by the CARES Act are exempt from garnishment under New York law. Her commitment to aggressively prosecute any creditor or debt collector that garnishes New Yorkers’ stimulus payments is an example of the kind of leadership we need from our elected officials during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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February

2020

6

Statement on Mayor de Blasio’s Commitment to Expand Community Land Trusts in NYC

New Economy Project welcomes Mayor de Blasio’s announcement in today’s “State of the City” address that the Administration will expand support for community land trusts in New York City, as part of his “Blueprint to Save Our City.” The announcement comes after years of work by New Economy Project and partners to advance CLTs in NYC, as a key strategy for advancing racial and economic justice and building community wealth.

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September

2019

12

Public Bank NYC Awarded $276,000 From Rosin Fund

Public Bank NYC announced today that it has received a three-year, $276,000 grant from the Scherman Foundation’s Katharine S. and Axel G. Rosin Fund. The award supports the coalition’s campaign for a municipal public bank in New York City, and represents the first major grant that Public Bank NYC has received for its members since its launch in summer 2018.

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