B U S I N E S S • R E A L E S T A T E • H O M E I M P R O V E M E N T business New York Community Bancorp: (continued on page 30) Helping Queens Thrive With Joseph Ficalora at the helm, the organization provides Queens residents and businesses with the resources they need to succeed. When New York Community Bancorp president and chief executive officer Joseph Ficalora was a student growing up in Corona, he saw firsthand how important it was for neighborhood businesses to have the support and financial backing that they needed to make a difference in the community. Today, during his 49th year of service to Queens County Savings Bank and the Queens community, Ficalora reflects on having spent his career working to make resources accessible and shares his hope for continued growth and expansion in the borough. New York Community Bancorp (NYCB), a leading producer of multi-family loans in New York City, is currently the 20th largest bank holding company in the United States with assets of $47.6 billion. Over the course of the past 20 years, led by Ficalora, NYCB has grown from a mutual savings bank with seven branches in Queens and Nassau Counties to a publicly-traded multi-bank holding company. Currently, NYCB has 272 branches, which serve consumers and businesses throughout New York City’ metropolitan area, New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, and Arizona. Though Ficalora oversees the entire NYCB corporation, the Queens branches, including Queens County Savings Bank, hold a special place in his heart. “I grew up here, so I have a strong affinity towards the people of this borough,” says Ficalora. “I lived in Corona, I went to Queensboro Community College, and my brother is currently the principal of Newtown High School. To this day, I’m affiliated with a number of Queens-based organizations.” While attending Queensboro, then graduating from Pace University with a degree in business and finance, Ficalora joined Queens County Savings Bank, charter of NYCB’s primary bank, and went on to hold various positions of leadership across all areas of the business. He was named president and chief operating officer of the Community Bank in 1989, then four years later, he spearheaded the establishment of Queens County Bancorp, the predecessor of New York Community Bancorp, which he leeds since its inception in 1993. Queens County Bancorp was changed to New York Community Bancorp in 2000. “The Queens community is more involved today than it has ever been,” says Ficalora. “Queens County Savings Bank has a long history of serving the people and remains a very relevant bank in the borough. Queens has always been a place where people come to have opportunity, and therefore a large number of people want to be associated with an institution such as ours.” He explains that for resi-
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