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The City: Payday Loan Apps Cost New Yorkers $500 Million Plus, New Study Estimates
The City — Cash advance apps like Dave and EarnIn have charged New York consumers more than $500 million in hidden fees and “tips” since 2019, a new report estimates — allowing the loan platforms to thrive despite New York’s strict limits on consumer interest rates.
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The Wave: State Senate Banks Committee Holds Hearing on Discrimination in NY’s Mortgage Industry
The Wave — The New York State Senate Banks Committee, chaired by NYS Senator James Sanders Jr., held a public hearing earlier this month to examine potential discrimination in New York’s home mortgage banking industry. The hearing brought together key stakeholders, including government officials, financial regulators, industry representatives, and consumer advocates, to address concerns regarding…
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Next City Podcast: So Many Land Trusts Launched in NYC That They Created A Map
Next City Podcast — We talk about community land trusts, or CLTs, a lot at Next City. It’s about ownership: The community owns the lands and stewards the land. That means that the buildings on the land — including housing and other spaces like storefronts — can made affordable to own or to rent, in…
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New York Focus: How Eric Adams’s MyCity Portal Became a $100 Million Question Mark
New York Focus — Over the past two and a half years, Mayor Eric Adams’s administration has spent tens of millions of dollars building an online tool it says will transform all social services in New York City.
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Survey: New Yorkers Support Public Banking by 8:1 Margin
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.
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Finger Lakes 1: NYS Bill Gives Tenants a Chance to Buy Their Apartment Building
Finger Lakes 1 — The Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act would give tenants the first chance to buy their building if the owner decides to sell it. Renters could then work with community land trusts on the ownership model they want to have.
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Elected Officials, Community Groups Rally for Public Banks, Slam Commercial Banks for Fueling Racial Wealth Gap
On Tuesday, a statewide coalition of community and labor groups and community credit unions rallied with elected officials at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, calling on New York State to take urgently needed action on lending discrimination and create public banks to ensure fair lending and economic justice for all New Yorkers.
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Elected Officials and Housing Groups Rally at Capitol for Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act and $250 Million in Budget
With private equity firms driving up home prices and eroding New York’s affordable housing stock, elected officials and housing groups held a rally and press conference at the New York State Capitol on Tuesday to call on the Governor and Legislature to pass the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and allocate $250 million in the state…
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Brick Underground: What is A Community Land Trust? How Does it Help Low-Income Buyers?
“TOPA will give tenants and community land trusts a powerful tool to take land and housing off the speculative market and expand the supply of deeply affordable, community-controlled housing in Black and brown neighborhoods,” said Chelsea Diaz, a Skadden Legal Fellow at New Economy Project.
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Nearly 70 Tenant and Community Groups Urge Albany to Pass Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act in State Budget
Nearly 70 tenant and community groups from across New York State delivered a letter to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, urging them to include the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (S401) in this year’s state budget—along with $250 million annually to support its implementation.
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Finger Lakes 1: Tenant Groups Push for Stronger Housing Protections in New York Budget
Finger Lakes 1 — Nearly 70 tenant and community groups across New York State are calling on state lawmakers to pass the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and allocate $250 million annually to support its implementation, arguing that stronger measures are needed to prevent corporate takeovers of rental housing.
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New Interactive Map Showcases NYC’s Growing Community Land Trust Movement
New Economy Project has released the NYC Community Land Trust (CLT) Map, an interactive tool highlighting New York City’s growing community land trust (CLT) movement. The digital map features detailed profiles of 19 CLTs.