"The fact that the Mayor chose our credit union to announce the launching of his new anti-poverty program is extremely significant as CDCUs as well as other community development financial institutions (CDFIs) provide a proven mechanism for community empowerment and revitalization," said Pablo DeFilippi, board member and former CEO of the CU.

"There are 28 CDCUs in the city of New York with combined assets of over $75 million that provide affordable financial services and education to more than 43,000 members in some of the most distressed communities of NYC, from the Lower East Side to the South Bronx and from Washington Heights to Bushwick," DeFilippi added.

The new initiative will focus on proven programs, but will also develop a funding stream for innovative approaches, using funds that Mayor Bloomberg expects to be contributed by the private sector.

The Mayor stressed the multiple, interrelated symptoms and causes of poverty, and the need to develop a broad, multifaceted approach.

While recognizing that the city could not simultaneously tackle every problem and barrier, the mayor's Commission on Economic Opportunity developed five targeted strategies, including breaking the cycle of poverty by improving the life chances of children under five; investing in the education of at-risk young adults; helping disengaged young adults find career paths; empowering working adults to achieve financial stability by developing asset-building strategies to promote self-sufficiency for the working poor and creating opportunities for low-wage workers to expand their skill sets to work their way up the career ladder.

A number of city agencies will be engaged, under the coordination of the new Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO), which will be run by Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Linda Gibbs.

In his remarks, Mayor Bloomberg highlighted the need for more consumer protection, stating that the CEO will operate as a watchdog group to deter deceptive practices such as tax fraud and predatory lending. "People don't have the financial education to know when they are being taken advantage of," explained Bloomberg. "By educating people to the pitfalls of some of these practices they can make better decisions that will help them have more money to feed their families."

"This initiative couldn't come at a better time," said Rafael Morales, public affairs officer for the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions. The Federation is also headquartered in New York and has been working at New York Anti-Poverty efforts.

"The Federation has been working with the New York State legislature as well as governor-elect Spitzer to create a New York State Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, and we believe we are on the verge of having the program funded. The mayor's CEO initiative would really complement a state fund by supporting significant asset-building strategies here in New York City," added Morales.

Rosenthal also pointed out at the press conference the possibility of leveraging federal IDA funds through the Assets For Independence (AFI) program of the Department of Health and Human Services, which puts out $25 million annually.

Congressman Rangel, who is expected to have an extremely powerful role in the new Congress, made a strong connection between city and federal policies. "People ask me, what's this have to do with the Ways and Means Committee?" said Rangel. "Well, I truly believe with the corporate structure that we have to deal with for taxing purposes, [people should see] how much poverty is costing our economy, especially as we move towards globalization, especially as we talk about guest worker programs when we've got millions of people screaming out for training and jobs…Poverty is so expensive." –[email protected]