14 JUNE 20, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Ridgewood Savings completes renovation
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
After 30 years of business,
the Ridgewood Savings
Bank’s Glendale branch was
ready for a facelift . In keeping with the
bank’s mission, it included a community
off ering with the makeover.
The bank held a ribbon-cutting
ceremony on Tuesday to celebrate
the re-opening of its renovated
branch, drawing local civic
organizations, first-responders and
Congresswoman Grace Meng to join
the bank staff in celebrating the
branch’s new community meeting
space.
“When I first started representing
this area a few years ago, one thing
that stood out to me about Ridgewood
Savings Bank was how closely it
worked with the community. From
visiting schools, I would see materials
from the bank teaching financial
literacy to establishing this amazing
room that you used to helping some
of our communities most dedicated
leaders,” said Meng.
The new meeting space was
designed to support local civic
organizations, nonprofits and
community groups. During the
The ribbon-cutting at Ridgewood Savings Bank’s renovated Glendale branch
on June 18. Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
event, it was packed with members
of the 104th Precinct Community
Council, the Edward R Miller VFW
Post 7336, the FDNY foundation and
the Glendale Volunteer Ambulance
Corps–each of which received a
$1,000 donation at the ceremony.
“These four groups are just
the beginning. Over all the bank
supports 300 major groups. Every
year we donate over a million dollars
and our employees donate over 3,000
hours of their time,” said Leonard
Stekol, the bank’s chairman and
CEO.
Stekol says the renovation will offer
better amenities to customers and
update the technology. In his address,
he emphasized the investment that
the bank has made in low-andmoderate
income communities. He
sees this as a consequence of the
bank’s structure.
“The most important part that I
would mention is that we’re a mutual
community bank, which means we
don’t have shareholders. So we’re
here to give back to the community
and customers because they are the
real stakeholders of the bank,” Stekol
said.
Though Stekol emphasized the
bank’s community-first mentality,
it has been building its profile
recently, growing throughout Long
Island and the greater New York City
area, where it currently has 35 total
branches. In 2018, its total assets
grew to $5.5 billion, deposits to $4.25
billion and real estate loans reached
$3.8 million.
“Ridgewood Savings Bank is once
again showing itself to be a champion
of the community and its veterans,”
said Thomas Mazza, treasurer of
VFW Post 7336.
Queens Library gets funds in budget
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
At the end of the annual “budget
dance” between Mayor Bill de
Blasio and the City Council,
the city’s library systems, including
Queens Public Library, and their
customers were among the biggest
winners in town.
City Hall’s original budget called
for $16 million in funding cuts which
would have meant reduced operating
hours, a possible elimination of Sunday
service, a hiring freeze and fewer
programs for adult literacy, story time
for children and other projects.
Instead, City Council battled the
administration during the drawn out
negotiations and came away with a
$33 million investment in additional
expense funding for the city’s
libraries.
“It was a total team effort, from
Speakers Corey Johnson to our Queens
delegation, especially Cultural Aff airs
& Libraries Chair Jimmy Van Bramer,
Finance Chair Danny Dromm and City
Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz who
continues to fi ght for our libraries,”
Queens Public Library President and
CEO Dennis M. Walcott said. “People
understand the value of libraries and
the City Council made it a priority
need and they really came through
for us.”
Queens Public Library, which
consists of 65 locations including
branch libraries, the Central Library in
Jamaica, seven adult learning centers
around the borough, a technology
lab in the Queensbridge Houses, two
universal pre-kindergarten centers
and two teen centers will remain
operating at full strength.
“It’s the perfect marriage between the
Queens delegation and our libraries,”
Walcott said. “They continue to provide
the level of support so we can continue
to deliver a high level of service to the
public and our customers.”
Van Bramer called the $33 million in
increased funding a great victory for
all New Yorkers.
“The budget agreement is historic
in terms of not only the increase and
overall level of funding, but also
we got most of it baselined — made
permanent — so libraries don’t risk
losing it each year. Our communities
rely on their local libraries and this
will ensure that public libraries can
remain open, expand services and
keep up with rising demand.”
The leaders of the three systems,
Queens Public Library, The New York
Public Library and the Brooklyn
Public Library applauded the City
Council.
“You have collectively ensured
that public libraries — which off er
opportunity to all and are the heart
of a fair and equitable city — remain
strong at a critical time in our history,
when New Yorkers, especially the
most vulnerable, need them the most,”
they said in a joint statement.
Dromm said he was proud to have
helped secure the $33 million in
additional expense funding.
“They are the backbone of our
neighborhoods,” Dromm said. “Our
libraries are community centers
for young people and seniors alike,
off ering literature, computer access,
free classes and concerts to everyone.
This additional funding will help
city libraries continue to serve New
Yorkers for years to come.”
Queens Public Library president and CEO Dennis Walcott thanks the Queens
delegation to the City Council for securing $33 million in additional expense
funding for city libraries. Courtesy of Queens Public Library
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
