MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12/10/2019
CONTACT: Andy Morrison, andy@neweconomynyc.org, 212-680-5100 x210
SURVEY: NEW YORKERS SUPPORT PUBLIC BANKING BY 8:1 MARGIN
Public Banking Push Intensifies as Community Groups Urge Mayoral Candidates to Commit to Establishing a New York City Public Bank
NEW YORK, NY – A new statewide survey from the Community Service Society (CSS) shows 62% of NYC residents support public banking, compared to just 8% opposed—a nearly 8:1 margin, the highest in the state. Support for public banking is strong across all regions in New York, underscoring a growing urgency to reclaim public money for the public good.
The survey comes as NYC mayoral candidates campaign across the city, with most on record supporting public banking—a model broadly championed by community, labor, and affordable housing organizations and community development financial institutions. A public bank would hold the City of New York’s public deposits and leverage them to fund loans and equitable investments.
Last month, the federal government seized $80 million from a city account at Citibank, prompting Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and others to blast the city’s reliance on big banks that fail to serve the city’s interests. A public bank, they stressed, would better safeguard city deposits from federal overreach and ensure public dollars serve New Yorkers—rather than sitting in banks that redline communities, fund fossil fuels, and fuel real estate speculation.
A recent report by economists at The New School’s Center for NYC Affairs highlights the lasting economic benefits a public bank would bring to NYC. In just its first five years, a NYC public bank would:
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Create over 70,000 local jobs by financing small and worker-owned businesses, including MWBEs, affordable housing, and climate infrastructure.
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Build or preserve nearly 18,000 affordable housing units by supporting nonprofit developers, community land trusts, and other permanent affordability models.
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Direct $1 billion to climate solutions, including community solar installations, heat pumps, weatherization, and building electrification.
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Generate $6 billion in new lending to low-income and Black and brown neighborhoods and expanding fair banking access, through partnerships with local credit unions and other responsible lenders.
The New York Public Banking Act, currently before the state legislature, would clear the way for cities like NYC to establish public banks that serve community needs. Last year, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans and the Rochester City Council submitted a home rule message requesting state passage of the Bank of Rochester Act, which would establish the first full-fledged municipal bank in the U.S. The bill passed the state Assembly Banks Committee and has been reintroduced this year.
Advocates in the Public Bank NYC coalition are calling on the next New York City mayor to follow Rochester’s lead and bring public banking to the Big Apple.
Click here to read the CSS survey.