For Immediate Release: May 22, 2024
Contact: Andy Morrison, andy@neweconomynyc.org
Coalitions’ Statement on Assembly Bank Committee’s Approval of the Bank of Rochester Act
The NYS Community Equity Agenda, Public Bank NYC, and Rochester Public Banking Coalition issued the following statement on the NYS Assembly Banks Committee’s approval today of the Bank of Rochester Act:
“As leaders of New York’s powerful and growing public banking movement, we commend the NYS Assembly Banks Committee for responding to the urgent calls for public banking by approving the Bank of Rochester Act. We express our gratitude to Assemblymember Harry Bronson and Chair Pamela Hunter for prioritizing this bill and collaborating with Rochester officials, including Mayor Malik Evans and the entire Rochester City Council, who are united in their support for this bold and urgently needed venture.
This groundbreaking bill will establish a bank for the people of Rochester, leveraging public funds for the public good and advancing racial and economic justice. With persistent redlining and disinvestment affecting Rochester and communities across the state, the Bank of Rochester Act signals a shift toward a financial system that prioritizes people over profit. It aims to build wealth in low-income communities and communities of color, rather than extracting wealth from them. We urge the Assembly and Senate to unite and make history by passing the bill this session, finally bringing public banking to New York.”
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The NYS Community Equity Agenda is a statewide coalition of community, labor, civil rights, and legal services groups, faith-based and cooperative organizations, and community development financial institutions fighting for economic democracy and racial justice in New York.
Public Bank NYC is a coalition of more than 50 groups organizing for the creation of a municipal public bank for NYC, as part of a broad vision for racial, economic and environmental justice.
Rochester Public Banking Coalition is a coalition pressing for the creation of a public bank for Rochester, as part of a broader vision for economic and racial justice.