New York Needs Public BankING
Every year, the City of New York moves tens of billions of public dollars through Wall Street banks – the same banks that redline NYC’s neighborhoods of color and finance prisons, fossil fuel extraction, and real estate speculation.
Through a public bank, the City can divest from banks that harm New Yorkers, our communities, and our planet – and invest in a just economy.
That’s why New Economy Project co-founded and convenes Public Bank NYC, a coalition fighting for public banks that benefit communities, rather than line the pockets of Wall St.
What could a public bank do?
Financial Justice
By partnering with community development credit unions and loan funds, a public bank could expand access to safe, affordable loans and financial services.
Climate Justice
A public bank could divest public deposits from Wall Street banks that finance climate destruction, and invest in renewable energy and a just transition.
Worker Justice
A public bank could invest in small and worker-owned businesses, creating good jobs that build wealth and keep it in the neighborhood.
Housing Justice
A public bank could fight gentrification and displacement by investing in permanently affordable, community-controlled housing, like community land trusts and mutual housing.
“Our local deposits are used to finance these nefarious developers building housing that’s not affordable to us. We’re financing our own displacement.“
—Al Scott, co-founder, East New York Community Land Trust, and coalition member, Public Bank NYC
New Economy Project provides the research, policy advocacy, and popular education to drive the movement for public banking in New York:
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COPA Is Back, a “Solidarity Stroll” with the Mamdani Administration, a New Coalition Takes on Big Tech Predators, and More!
In our latest newsletter: COPA is back! Catch up on the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, our work launching a national coalition to fight Big Tech payday lenders, a “Solidarity Stroll” with Deputy Mayor Julie Su and other members of the Mamdani Administration, and much more.
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Spring into Solidarity!
In our latest newsletter, we share a new national profile of our work advancing community ownership; highlights from the annual “Worst Banks Awards;” our new Fintech Paycheck Extraction Clock; and a major housing victory for low-income tenants and homeowners.
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Shelterforce: How Public Banks Can Meet Public Needs
What could your community do if your city or state owned its own bank? In 2020, the nonprofit organization Action Center on Race & the Economy published a study showing that state and local governments pay $160 billion in annual interest on the money they borrow.
