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Obama Administration Releases FY 2011 Budget Proposal
On February 1, President Obama released the Administration's FY 2011 budget, which proposes funding levels for various housing and community development programs. If enacted, the budget would provide about $48 billion in gross discretionary funding for HUD, $1.5 billion (or 3 percent) more than the FY 2010 spending levels. The budget includes $19.5 billion for Section 8 housing choice vouchers and $9.3 billion for the Section 8 project-based rental assistance program.The budget also provides funding for two new initiatives: 1) the Transforming Rental Assistance program which is designed to preserve approximately 300,000 units of public and assisted housing through enhancing administrative efficiency, promoting the leverage of private capital, and providing tenant mobility, and 2) the Catalytic Investment Competition Grant program for economic development financing in neighborhoods in need of revitalization.As evidence of the Administration's decision to freeze non-security spending, the Section 202 Housing for the Elderly and Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities received significant funding cuts.Visit Enterprise's Budget and Appropriations webpage to view a detailed Housing and Community Development Budget Chart and Summary.Free Financial Education Workshops
In hopes of preventing you from falling victim to predatory financial services such as high-interest Credit Cards, Check Cashers and Credit Scams, that are costing everyone hundreds of dollars a year University Neighborhood Housing Program will provide Free Financial Education Workshops, during several Tuesdays and Thursdays this summer. Join us in learning how to budget despite the national turmoil.
Workshops will cover:
Learn how to save by…
Workshops are provided to English & Spanish speakers
*Its not mandatory to attend consecutive workshops*Location: The Chapel at Concourse House
2751 Grand Concourse Ave
*times and locations may vary based on demand*CALL FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
RSVP!
SPACE IS LIMITED
Jumelia Abrahamson,
Outreach & Advocacy Coordinator
718-933-2539
jumelia@unhp.org
Free Tax Preparation Asisstance
UNHP is helping to organize free tax preparation services for northwest Bronx residents. Working together with ARIVA as well as neighborhood partners and financial sponsors, local residents making less than $56,000 will be able to file their returns without any fees. Every year, Bronx neighborhoods lose millions of dollars in tax preparation fees and refund anticipation loan interest. Much of this coming out of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.
In 2006, about one-third of all applications for Refund Anticipation Loans in New York City (more than 71,000 filers) were made by Bronx residents. The total fees paid by these filers for tax preparation, the loans themselves and any other miscellaneous fees totaled approximately $19.5 million dollars, based on calculations made by the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project using the Consumer Federation of America's estimate of $273 for an average filer. More than 80% of these Refund Anticipation Loan applications were made by low income Bronxites, who paid more than $16 million for these services. Two-thirds of applications came from households who received the Earned Income Tax Credit, one of the largest federal anti-poverty programs.
Even at the neighborhood level, the amount of money paid for tax preparation and Refund Anticipation Loans exceeds $1 million in many northwest Bronx zip codes. For instance, more than 5,600 filers in 10453 spent more than $1.5 million on tax preparation and Refund Anticipation Loans.
By providing free tax preparation services in these same neighborhoods, much needed money will stay in the pockets of Bronxites. Services will begin in January 2010 at the Heiskell Enterprise Technology Center in Refuge House, 2715 Bainbridge Avenue.
Contact University Neighborhood Housing Program at 718-933-2539 for more information or to schedule an appointment.
Place: Refuge House
2715 Bainbridge Avenue (corner of 196th St.)By Appointment Only.
Contact UNHP to Schedule an Appointment.
Jumelia (718) 933-2539 Ext. 12 (Hablamos Español)
Jumelia@unhp.orgSponsored in 2009 by
Chase/WaMu Acquisition: Could the Bronx Lose 13 Branches
(Also posted on the West Bronx Blog)
As of this summer, the Bronx had 146 full service bank branches (source: FDIC), 10 more than it had a year earlier (plus a number of credit unions). That may sound like a decent number, but when we ran the numbers last year (when there were 136), our branch to household ration was at 1:3,443 -- dead last in the City, three times off Manhattan's pace (where many were complaining about too many bank branches), and lagging behind all 50 states (and, for good measure, Puerto Rico).
Also important to consider is that branches tend to cluster around each other: think of all the branches on Fordham Road and in Norwood on Bainbridge/204th and Jerome. Now how many branches are in between? Two. It's much worse in South Fordham where there aren't any branches until you get to Burnside Ave (where there happens to be a brand new Amalgamated Bank branch).
If you lived at Third Ave and E. 168th Street in Morrissania there wouldn't be a branch for nearly a mile away in any direction. The same would hold true if you lived around Southern Boulevard between Longwood Ave and E 149th Street. (See the map image below for "The Black Hole of Banking in the Bronx" where a densely populated square mile is isolated from any branch presence for at least a half mile away in every direction.)
Despite the presence of decent sized commercial strips in these areas, banks are very hesitant to open up new branches in areas that have no branches. Instead we have heard many of them state they would rather open up on strips where they face major competition from other branches.
In addition to leaving large swaths of the borough without a branch (where fringe financial services like check cashsers and pawn shops have filled the void and thrived), this strategy leaves the borough vulnerable to branch closings when mergers and acquisitions take place. For instance, with WaMu's failure and acquisisition by Chase, it's very plausible the Bronx will lose 13branchesin the near future. While the neighborhoods affected will still have at least one bank branch, it will undoubtedly lead to longer lines for a teller.
We have mapped out all the full service bank branches in the Bronx, and there are 12 areas highlighted where a Chase and Washington Mutual branch are within a short walking distance of each other, including Fordham Road where there are two WaMu's and one Chase within that distance.
And finally, if you want to keep score on who had the most bank branches in the Bronx as of June 2008, here were the standings with Chase and WaMu in the top spots:
30 - JPMorgan Chase Bank
20 - Washington Mutual Bank
14 - Capital One
13 - Citibank
11 - HSBC Bank USA
10 - Bank of America
9 - Ridgewood Savings Bank
5 - Banco Popular North America
5 - Emigrant Savings Bank
4 - Apple Bank for Savings
4 - Ponce De Leon Federal Bank
4 - TD Bank (Formerly Commerce)
3 - Amalgamated Bank
2 - Country Bank
2 - Hudson Valley Bank
2 - New York Community Bank
2 - New York National Bank
1 - CheckSpring Bank
1 - NorthEast Community Bank
1 - Signature Bank
1 - Sovereign Bank
1 - The Dime Svgs. Bank of Williamsburgh
1 - Wachovia Bank (Soon to be Wells Fargo?)
Note: I didn't count ATM only branches or Capital One's branch at the Roosevelt Campus.
UNHP's Foreclosure Prevention Work in Fordham Bedford Featured on CBC Radio
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio (think Canadian NPR) came to the Bronx last week to find out about how the financial crisis is affecting neighborhoods througout New York City. Reporter/Producer Deen Karim took a walk with UNHP Deputy Director Gregory Lobo Jost through some of the streets of Fordham Bedford to look at foreclosed homes and talk about the impact they are having on the neighborhood. Listen here at Part 2: Broken Dreams.
