Statement on Governor Cuomo’s “State of the State” Proposal to Expand Access to Safe and Affordable Financial Services

New Economy Project applauds Governor Cuomo’s proposal to provide $25 million in new seed funding over five years for the New York State Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (NYS CDFI Fund). By supporting the state’s robust network of 80+ cooperative and community-controlled credit unions and loan funds, New York will take a critical first step toward addressing longstanding inequities in our financial system that play out at regional and neighborhood levels. This proposal builds on New York’s successful actions to keep payday lending out of our state, and will provide immediate economic stimulus to low-income communities and communities of color statewide. 

We urge the New York State Senate and Assembly to endorse this proposal and to work with the Governor to enhance it, by identifying additional funding for the NYS CDFI Fund to further spur community-led economic development and create wealth in historically-redlined neighborhoods. New Economy Project, along with its partners in the NYS Community Equity Agenda coalition, will continue to fight to strengthen and expand cooperative and community-controlled finance, as a matter of racial and economic justice.

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