For Immediate Release: January 25, 2022
COALITION STATEMENT
Regarding Gov. Hochul’s Announced Plan to Secure $150 Million for NYS Community Development Financial Institutions
“The NYS Community Equity Agenda is pleased to see Governor Hochul’s proposal to partner with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to deliver more than $150 million in federal funding to small businesses in New York communities hardest-hit by the pandemic. Our coalition has been at the forefront of statewide efforts to strengthen New York’s CDFIs – mission-driven credit unions, loan funds, and banks that build wealth in Black, brown, immigrant, and low-income neighborhoods. Coalition members were instrumental in securing the first-ever allocation to New York’s CDFI Fund in 2020, and this announcement builds on that momentous victory.”
“The NYS Community Equity Agenda urges the Governor to target new funding to worker-owned businesses (including cannabis-related enterprises), and expand support for CDFIs beyond small business lending to those that provide retail banking and financing for affordable housing and other critical needs in historically-redlined neighborhoods. We continue to call for passage of the NY Public Banking Act, paving the way for local governments to leverage billions of public dollars in partnership with CDFIs to invest in community needs. Funding New York’s CDFIs is a direct way to support community-controlled finance, address longstanding inequities in our financial system, and spur an equitable recovery. We must continue to transform our unjust financial system, as we fight for racial and economic justice.”
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