Neighborhood Trust FCU plans June opening of its West Harlem branch

NEW YORK-Get ready for a second Harlem Renaissance. In the golden days of Harlem's 1920's shining era, an expanding economy driven by merchants, laborers, artists, writers and others made uptown New York City sizzle, and put Harlem on the international map. While there has been somewhat of a resurgence in Harlem these past few years, the lack of financial institutions willing to fund local entrepreneurs and provide basic banking services has proved to be hard to surmount. But Neighborhood Trust FCU (CU Times, Dec. 22, 1999) is getting ready to open up its branch office in West Harlem by this time next month, and with it comes access to banking services and seed money for small business that has been sorely lacking until now. Now, with $5 million-in-assets and 9% capital, NTFCU has experienced three years of solid growth and is set to bring financial services to the low-income residents of West Harlem, they say. The new branch will be located on Amsterdam Avenue, between 140th and 141st Street. It will occupy three storefronts that had been closed down for drug activity. Credit Where Credit is Due, the credit union's sponsor, has been working on the renovation for over a year. The expansion was funded by a $440,000 grant from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone. Neighborhood Trust FCU's president Mark Levine also won the "Brick Award" as one of America's Best Young Leaders from the "Do Something" foundation, a non-profit community organization. The Brick Award of $100,000 was also applied to expanding the CU's reach and Credit Where Credit is Due's educational outreach program. Recently, CWCID leased and renovated a space adjacent to its office at 4211 Broadway that now serves as a classroom. Before the space became available, financial education classes were held in the lobby of the credit union at close of business. Having a dedicated classroom will allow for more classes, said Levine. Other happenings at CWCID include the graduation of the first Entrepreneurs Training Class. This intense eight course program offers training in business management, and helps nascent entrepreneurs set up and more efficiently operate new businesses. One recent graduate, Milton Balacer, was featured in the credit union's newsletter. Balacer said the course gave him the necessary skills to move forward with his plans to buy commercial buildings and lease them to micro-enterprise tenants. It is just that kind of multiplying factor that good financial education, access to credit and bootstrap spirit can bring to a neighborhood, said Levine. That will help make for a true Renaissance, he said. (Visit Neighborhood Trust FCU online at www.cwid.org). - caburger@cutimes.com