
2
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, FEBRUARY 9, 2020
BANKRUPT
Coney left with just one full-service bank after MCU branch closure
Bensonhurst manhole fi re injures two
This newspaper is not responsible for typographical errors in ads beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2020 by Brooklyn Courier
Life LLC. The content of this newspaper is protected by Federal copyright law. This newspaper, its advertisements, articles, and photographs may not be reproduced, either in
whole or part, without permission in writing from the publisher except brief portions for purposes of review or commentary consistent with the law. Postmaster, send address
changes to Courier Life, One MetroTech Center North, Third Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
BY ROSE ADAMS
Coney Islanders were
left with just one full-service
bank after the Municipal
Credit Union closed its
doors on Jan. 31, creating
a “retail crisis” in America’s
Playground, according
to the area’s local councilman.
“We’re seeing banks
close and leave. We’re experiencing
a retail crisis,”
said Mark Treyger.
The credit union closed
six of its branches, including
their Surf Avenue
storefront, following a period
of sustained losses in
the wake of a multimilliondollar
embezzlement scandal
that landed its chief
executive in prison for fi veand
a-half years — and ensnared
Brooklyn Supreme
Court Justice Sylvia Ash
in legal jeopardy for an alleged
cover-up.
And with the fi nancial
institution’s closure, Coney
Island and Sea Gate’s
30,000 residents now have
to pile into the Mermaid
Avenue Citibank for full
banking services — or else
travel to Brighton Beach, a
trip that can take up to 30
minutes on public transit,
locals said.
The number of full-service
banks in Coney Island
has dwindled in recent
years, with Chase Bank
closing its W. 17th Street
location in the wake of
damage from Superstorm
Sandy and abandoning its
mobile trailer soon after —
leaving a faulty ATM in its
stead.
“Now all we have is the
Citibank on Mermaid Avenue
and W. 30th Street
and the ATM on Mermaid
Avenue
that’s literally out
of cash every other day,”
Treyger said.
The MCU closure marks
the fi rst time Coney Islanders
fi nd themselves in a
true fi nancial desert, as the
area has always boasted at
least two fully-functioning
banks, according to locals.
“We’ve never had a
bunch of banks, but at any
given time we tend to have
between three and four,”
said local Assemblywoman
Mathylde Frontus, who
has lived in the area for 35
years.
Frontus claims that
banking institutions see
the area as a “poor neighborhood,”
and put their fi -
nancial bottom line over
servicing Brooklynites —
with increasingly harmful
consequences.
The reduction in banks
is also a symptom of the
neighborhood’s fl agging
commercial strips, according
to Treyger, who noted
that nearly 15-percent of
storefronts sit vacant.
“Some of the small businesses
are asking, ‘What’s
the vision for the future?'”
he said.
The fraught situation
has led politicians and local
mavens to try and come
up with ways to stop the
bleeding and bring back
banks and businesses.
Craig Hammerman, a
local civic guru, wrote a
letter to the New York State
Department of Financial
Services asking the agency
to enforce the Community
Reinvestment Act — a federal
law that encourages
commercial banks and savings
associations to serve
low- and moderate-income
neighborhoods.
“Whittling down access
to full-service banking to
one bank that would serve
the 30,000 predominantly
low- and moderate-income
residents of Coney Island
must surely suggest an urgent,
unmet need which
requires the attention, assistance,
and intervention
of your department,” Hammerman
wrote.
Treyger said that he
alerted several government
agencies to the issue,
and is drafting a
letter to the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation
about the lack of services.
Meanwhile, Frontus,
who was recently
appointed to the State
Assembly’s Economic Development
Committee,
said she will soon release a
four-point economic mobility
plan that aims to bring
retail and banks to Coney
Island.
“This plan is a commitment
I’m making to bring a
range of services: education
and job training, entrepreneurial
assistance, home
ownership, and fi nancial
planning,” she said.
The MCU Coney Island branch will close its doors on January 31. Photo by Zoe Freilich
BY ROSE ADAMS
An underground fire erupted
in a Bensonhurst manhole on
Jan. 28, seriously injuring two
workers, according to authorities.
The contracted workers were
upgrading a 12-inch National
Grid gas main on Bay Ridge
Parkway and 19th Avenue at
around 10 am when a rupture in
the pipe sparked the enferno, officials
said.
More than 65 firefighters
rushed to the scene, where they
found the two workers with serious
burns to their body, a Fire
Department spokesman said.
First responders rushed the
victims to Staten Island University
Hospital Northwell Health
Burn Care Center in stable condition
for treatment, authorities
say.
Smoke eaters quelled the blaze
in about 45 minutes, but National
Grid continued excavating the
area for hours — shutting down
the gas to six nearby properties,
and disrupting service to about
25 customers.
Gas service was restored to
all affected customers later that
night, according to National Grid
spokeswoman Karen Young, who
said that an investigation into
the incident remains ongoing.
“Safety is our top priority and
we will conduct an incident analysis,”
said Young.
ABLAZE: A fi re erupted in a manhole on
Bay Ridge Parkway, injuring two workers.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell