 Profiles in Economic Justice
NEDAP presents profiles of individuals and organizations fighting for economic justice in New York City.
Concerned Citizens for the Rockaways
March, 2005
BY NEDAP Staffmember, Celeste Day Moore
When Floyd Smith III received a letter in December informing him that Greenpoint bank would be closing its Far Rockaway branch on April 1, 2005 he thought it was an April Fool's joke. After all, the letter said accounts would be transferred to a branch about a mile away and uphill, considerable obstacles for this community of over 5,000 seniors. The bank announced it would close the branch in connection with North Fork Bank's acquisition of GreenPoint.
Mr. Smith and other community members of Concerned Citizens for the Rockaways had worked to promote water safety in the past, but now they were faced with a new challenge in fighting to keep this crucial bank branch in their community. The North Fork branch is located just across a low-traffic, two-lane road from the complex that houses over 5,000 seniors, many of whom are physically handicapped and unable to reach the Greenpoint branch that is not only far away, but across a dangerous six-lane thoroughfare. After researching the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and talking to NEDAP and other advocates, Mr. Smith noted: "I got the impression that banks are obligated to be reasonable in their services."
Concerned Citizens for the Rockaways collected hundreds of signatures on a petition to keep the bank branch open, and drew local media attention to the issue. In response, the bank pledged to keep the branch open three days a week at a public meeting attended by more than 200 residents, on January 12.
Mr. Smith sees the bank's decision to keep the branch open three days a week as a positive gesture. But ultimately, he says, the bank needs to meet the community's needs more fully. "Banks have got to start looking at ways of responding to community needs - more and more people are over 65 years old," said Mr. Smith.
Concerned Citizens for the Rockaways is keeping its eye on the branch, and, according to Mr. Smith, will rev up its efforts again if people find the bank branch's scaled-back schedule inconvenient. |
