CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS

Opinion: Public Banking is a Win for New York’s Tenants

and |

“As tenants who have suffered under aggressive landlords funded by predatory lenders, we urge our lawmakers to support the creation of public banks, mission-driven to provide affordable financing to responsible buyers of multifamily dwellings.” Adi Talwar444 East 13th Street in the East Village, formerly owned by notorious landlord Rafi Toledano

CityViews are readers’ opinions, not those of City Limits. Add your voice today! Signature Bank’s sudden collapse has revealed what many of us in the housing justice movement already knew: The bank’s business model relied on speculative and often predatory practices in the name of maximizing profits.As tenants who have suffered under aggressive landlords funded by predatory lenders, we urge our lawmakers to support the creation of public banks, mission-driven to provide affordable financing to responsible buyers of multifamily dwellings.We have seen Signature’s speculative and predatory business model up close. In May 2015, Signature Bank and Madison Realty Capital (MRC) underwrote loans to Rafi Toledano who purchased a portfolio of buildings in the East Village and Chelsea.