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QUEENS WEEKLY, MARCH 15, 2020
Congressional hearing held in Jamaica shows
modern-day redlining persists in SE Queens
BY BILL PARRY
A rare Congressional
field hearing was held
March 6 at the Jamaica Performing
Arts Center on the
issue of modern-day redlining
and how it persists in
banking deserts such as
southeast Queens.
The House Financial
Services Subcommittee
on Consumer Protection
and Financial Institution,
chaired by Congressman
Gregory Meeks, released a
new analysis confirming
that race, and in particular
the density of black and
Hispanic populations, is the
predominant determinant
of bank branch density, or
banking deserts.
The study isolated Census
data and found that
Queens zip codes with less
than 25 percent black and
Hispanic populations had a
total of 193 bank branches,
for a total population of
609,655 people, or one for every
3,159 people.
Whereas ZIP codes with
over 75 percent black and
Hispanic populations were
found to have one bank
branch for every 22,936 people,
meaning those neighborhoods
of color have
seven times fewer bank
branches.
“My office’s analysis
proves what we’ve anecdotally
seen here in Queens all
along: the more a community
is black and brown, the
less banks you see,” Meeks
said. “What’s startling here
is just how disproportionate
that reality is. Redlining
cannot be spoken about
in the past tense, a dark
chapter in our nation’s history.
Despite our proximity
to Wall Street, redlining is
very much still present
here in Queens, hurting
minority communities’
ability to get a loan to start
a small business or a mortgage
to get a home and lift
themselves into the middle
class.”
During the hearing,
Meeks was joined by his
colleagues, including Congresswoman
Carolyn Maloney
and Congresswoman
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
who heard testimony from
a panel of experts on affordable
housing and banking
marginalized communities,
including from the Association
for Neighborhood
and Housing Development,
Chhaya CDC, Neighborhood
Assistance Corporation
of America, National
Association for Latino Community
Asset Builders, and
the National Bankers Association.
The Community Reinvestment
Act has, over the
past four decades, spurred
hundreds of billions of dollars
in lending to low- and
middle-income communities
but the Trump administration
and the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation
declared it’s out of date
and in need of an overhaul.
“The witnesses we
heard from today are some
of our closest allies here
at home, who share our
commitment to ensuring
services for unbanked and
underbanked communities,”
Maloney said. “Together,
we are fighting to
preserve the Community
Reinvestment Act to combat
redlining, and to protect
minority banks, credit
unions, and CDFLs in these
underserved communities.
These institutions are empowering
our neighbors
and the small businesses
that make our communities
thrive and we cannot let the
Trump administration gut
the CRA and make it even
easier for banks to avoid
lending to low-income and
underserved communities.
The administration’s proposal
is so misguided that
even the Federal Reserve
refused to join it.”
The public comment period
on CRA reforms has
been extended to April 8.
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
Congressman Gregory Meeks unveils a new study that confirms modern-day redlining
continues in southeast Queens. Courtesy of Meeks’ office
Annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade set to return to Bayside
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Head to Bayside at the end
of the month for a show of Irish
pride at the neighborhood’s
yearly Saint Patrick’s Day Parade.
On Saturday, March 28, the
annual event will return to Bell
Boulevard for the third consecutive
year. The family-friendly
event began in 2018 in order to
showcase Bayside’s strong Irish
American community.
The parade route begins at
36th Avenue and will travel
down Bell Boulevard toward
42nd Avenue.
This year, organizers have
dedicated the parade to the
late Phil Brady, a 2019 aide to
the grand marshal, who passed
away in October 2019.
Eileen Flannelly Mackell is
this year’s parade grand marshal
and will be joined by aides
Tommy Mulvihill, John Golden,
Tom Golden, Robert Lynch,
Joe Donovan and Father Chris
Heanue.
Mackell is the vice president
of the Container Royalty
Central Collection Fund (CRCCF)
of the International Longshoreman
Association (ILA)
and the United States Maritime
Alliance (USMX).
Although the parade is a
one-day event, one of the event
organizers Kieran Mahoney
told QNS that organizing the
event takes all year and the
dedication of over 20 community
members.
“It takes a strong, organized
and cooperative committee to
organize the parade. Our committee
of over 20 people does
great work throughout the year.
The parade might be one day
but work is done year round,
such as fundraising, outreach
and community building. Our
sponsors have been vital in our
efforts, without their support
we couldn’t make this happen,”
Mahoney told QNS.
Last year’s parade featured
more than 70 local groups including
schools, marching and
pipe bands, dance groups and
civic organizations.
The third annual Bayside
Saint Patrick’s Day Parade is
on March 28 at 11 a.m.
For more information, visit
baysidesaintpatricksdayparade.
org or find the parade on
Facebook and Instagram.
The grand marshall and aides for the 2020 parade.
Photo courtesy of the Bayside Saint Patrick’s Day Parade
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