Dime Community Bank announces new
president and executive vice president
BY SCHNEPS STAFF
Dime Community Bank
announced the promotion of
two executives last week.
Stuart H. Lubow, the former
chief banking officer,
has been promoted to president,
and John Romano has
been promoted to serve as
Dime’s executive vice president
and chief retail officer.
Lubow, who has been a
banking executive for more
than 40 years, joined Dime
in 2017 as a senior executive
vice president and head of
Business Banking. In addition,
he served as an executive
with Community National
Bank, Community
State Bank, Garden State
Bank, Dollar Dry Dock Bank
and People’s Bank.
Romano also joined Dime
in 2017 and has also had a
lengthy career in community
banking. He’s worked as
an executive at First Central
Savings Bank, Amalgamated
Bank, People’s United Bank,
Bank of Smithtown and Astoria
Federal Savings.
“In the past three years
and under John’s direction,
Business Banking has
grown into a strong and critical
part of the Bank,” Lubow
said of Romano’s promotion.
“With retail and business
banking, along with operations,
Activism Across Generations
BRONX TIMES R 18 EPORTER, JUNE 19-25, 2020 BTR
under the same leadership,
I look forward to
continued collaboration and
growth in these areas in the
future.”
“Stu’s promotion to
president recognizes his
outstanding leadership,
customer-centric focus, enterprise
wide vision, and
our Business Banking division’s
strong performance
to-date,” said Kenneth J. Mahon,
the bank’s CEO. “In a
short span of time, under
Stu’s leadership, Dime has
made significant strides
to become a well-respected
community commercial
bank. The Business Banking
division’s strong loan
and deposit growth has enabled
us to: increase our
core net interest margin for
six consecutive quarters,
diversify our balance sheet
and grow sources of non-interest
income.”
“Stu has contributed tremendously
to our long-term
goal of becoming the best
business bank in New York.
I very much look forward to
working closely with Stu in
the years ahead and creating
value for our customers,
employees and shareholders,”
Mahon added.
Dime Community Bank
was founded in 1864. With
headquarters in Brooklyn,
the bank has 28 branches
throughout Queens, Brooklyn,
the Bronx and Long Island.
In the last few weeks, we have seen
thousands of Black Lives Matter activists
use their voice through demonstrations,
signing petitions, and reaching out to
local elected officials to call for change
in their communities and across the
country. This movement stirs memories
for us older New Yorkers.
New York City has a long history of
activism that helped ignite important
movements in the 1960s and 1970s
– civil rights, women’s rights, status
of Puerto Rico, anti-war, and LGBT
liberation – all of which led to important
changes in our country. We would not
be the City we are today without that
generation of activists, who are now our
older New Yorkers.
As a new generation of activists step
in, older New Yorkers who have been
demanding change for decades serve as
leading examples for others to follow.
Many current laws and regulations
that protect against discrimination and
promote equality can be credited to the
efforts of our elders.
Every June we celebrate Pride Month,
a month in which we commemorate the
contributions of the LGBT community
and the LGBT rights movement that
began with the Stonewall Inn uprising
of 1969. It was an event that helped build
the momentum for LGBT rights, which
continue today for young and older New
Yorkers. Organizations like SAGE USA’s
New York chapter and the Queens Center
for Gay Seniors, which are part of the New
York City Department for the Aging’s
(DFTA) network of congregate centers,
offer services designed to support older
LGBT New Yorkers. In these centers,
many older New Yorkers continue to be
agents of change and advocate for LGBT
older adults.
The same is true of older New Yorkers
throughout the five boroughs who are
active within their own neighborhoods
by being members of their community
boards, volunteering for local nonprofits
and being active members in their senior
centers – many which continue to offer
services virtually over video conferencing
or phone due to COVID-19.
And of course, we have older New
Yorkers who are advocates for older adults
and against ageism, like the Gray Panthers.
Taking their name from the Black
Panthers, this organization advocates
for equality for all people, regardless of
age, and believe that both the old and the
young have much to contribute to make
our society more just and humane.
It is often said that youth are the
catalysts of change. And they are, just
as we were when we were young. But
activism is something that must be
continued throughout an individual’s
lifetime, regardless of age. Today’s youth
are calling for change and reforms that are
necessary for our city and our country.
Albany lawmakers have listened and
recently signed a bill package of criminal
justice and police reform bills. But there is
still more work to be done. We must also
not lose sight of fighting against ageism.
As we continue giving attention to the
activists and movements that will bring
about change, it’s important that we,
older generations and older New Yorkers,
utilize our experience and knowledge
to support our youth and ask for their
support against ageism.
From left to right: A civil rights demonstration in Central Park in the 1960s,
photo by Richard Henry. A demonstration in Harlem earlier this month.
NYC Department for the
Aging Commissioner
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez
Photos courtesy of Dime Community Bank.Stuart H. Lubow and John Romano