Rep. Crowley, Councilman Vacca Host Community Meeting to Welcome Emigrant Bank to Edgewater Park and Silver Beach

Press Release

Today, Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx) and Councilman James Vacca hosted a community meeting with residents of Edgewater Park and Silver Beach to welcome an announcement by Emigrant Bank that it will begin offering home financing services, such as mortgage, refinance, and home loans, to the community. The meeting was held at St. Francis de Chantal School and was attended by representatives of Emigrant Bank and the Boards of Edgewater Park and Silver Beach, as well as residents of the communities.

"For too long, residents of Edgewater Park and Silver Beach have faced many challenges and very few options when it comes to buying, selling, or refinancing their home. That's why Councilman Vacca and I were worked long and hard to bring new lenders to this community," said Rep. Joe Crowley. "Emigrant Bank's decision to enter the housing market here is a major victory for residents as it opens up competition and provides a new banking option. I thank Emigrant Bank for making such an important commitment to Edgewater Park and Silver Beach."

"Over the years, the residents of Edgewater Park and Silver Beach dealt with limited banking options when seeking to buy, sell, or refinance their homes," Councilman Vacca said. "Through a great partnership with Congressman Crowley, we were finally able to bring a much needed lender to these communities with Emigrant Bank. With their commitment to Edgewater Park and Silver Beach, the residents of these communities will finally be able to receive proper banking services. I thank Congressman Crowley for his hard work throughout this process and I thank Emigrant Bank for entering these vital communities in my district."

"For more than 160 years, Emigrant has been providing banking and credit to New York City communities that have been underserved by other banking institutions. We are pleased to be able to continue that tradition in Edgewater Park and Silver Beach, particularly when Congressman Crowley and Councilman Vacca alerted us to this pressing community need," said Howard P. Milstein, Chairman, President, and CEO of Emigrant Bank.

"Edgewater Park and Silver Beach co-op communities are well-suited to Emigrant's flexible and innovative approach to lending in the boroughs of New York City. We look forward to working closely with community residents over the weeks and months to come to meet their mortgage needs," said Richard Wald, Chairman and CEO of Emigrant Mortgage Company, Emigrant Funding Corporation and the Chief Regulatory Officer of Emigrant Bank.

Currently, residents of Edgewater Park and Silver Beach have very limited options for home financing services. Recognizing the impact these limitations have on residents, Rep. Crowley and Councilman Vacca have worked tirelessly with the community, the federal government, and the banking community to bring new lenders to Edgewater Park and Silver Beach. Over the past year, Crowley and Vacca have held multiple community meetings with residents to listen to their concerns and update them on their efforts. Crowley and Vacca worked with federal regulators to make it easier for banks to make loans in Edgewater Park and Silver Beach. The officials also successfully worked with Citibank, which, at the time, was the only bank offering home financing services in these two communities, to expand the number of mortgages the bank can make.

Crowley and Vacca approached Emigrant Bank in 2011 about expanding into the Edgewater Park and Silver Beach communities. With Emigrant Bank's decision to enter the home financing market in these communities, residents will now have more options and opportunities to help meet their housing needs.

Congressman Crowley is a seven-term representative from the 7th Congressional District of New York, which includes sections of Queens and the Bronx. He serves as chief deputy whip in the Democratic leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives and is a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

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