Marisa Casellas-Barnes, Associate Director, Communications and Outreach

When New York Fed staff members meet with community-based organizations, advocates, and policymakers as part of our regular outreach efforts in the Second District, one recurring theme is the displacement pressures on low-income communities and long-term residents that typically result from neighborhood economic revitalization and/or change. In an effort to further understand this phenomenon, the New York Fed is convening listening sessions across the Second District and engaging experts in the field to understand neighborhood change, gentrification, and strategies for equitable growth.

Chelsea Cruz, Associate Director of Community Development Finance, and Adrian Franco, Director of Community Development Finance, Communications and Outreach

When communities are affected by natural disasters, banks can play a critical role in the recovery thanks in part to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), a regulatory framework that requires financial institutions to lend, invest, and offer services to low-and moderate-income communities in which they operate. Banks can help stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods, promote economic and small-business development, repair deteriorating infrastructure, and create long-term employment opportunities for all.

Adrian Franco, Director of Community Development Finance, Communications and Outreach

Adrian Franco, the New York Fed’s director of community development finance, delivered a keynote address at the annual conference of the New York State CDFI Coalition in Albany, New York, on May 7. In his remarks, which are published below, he emphasizes how the New York Fed’s community development initiatives can complement the work of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) in promoting equitable growth, and he calls on members of the industry to complete the Federal Reserve’s 2019 CDFI Survey. The survey, which closes on May 31, assesses the condition of CDFIs in the United States in terms of capitalization, financial products, development services, and demand and capacity; it is available here.