102 BROKLYN NEWS WWW.BROKLYN-USA.ORG
When it comes to the debt that prevents many
Brooklyn families from achieving their dreams,
Borough President Adams puts his money where his
mouth is.
Concerned by the extent to which Brooklynites
— particularly young people — are saddled with
financial insolvency and the long-term ramifications
that poses, then-State Senator Adams vowed that, if
he became Brooklyn’s borough president, one of his
highest priorities would be to ensure that Brooklyn
students become more financially literate.
Residents of Brooklyn have substantially more
credit card debt and higher rates of mortgage delinquency
than people elsewhere in New York City,
New York State, and the United States as a whole.
Brooklynites have a collective delinquency rate on
credit card debt two percent higher than the national
average, and the percentage of residents who are past
due by 90 days on mortgage payments exceeds the
national average by nearly four percent.
Upon learning that only $2 million is spent per year
on financial education compared with $54 million
on consumer marketing, Borough President Adams
spoke out about the need to change our financial
practices in Brooklyn, to bridge the $52 million divide
in developing basic financial management skills.
“It is important that we look for ways to help
Brooklyn residents make financially sound decisions,
learn ways to better manage their money, and protect
our more vulnerable Brooklynites from financial
scams,” he said, noting that achieving economic stability
and prosperity, not just on an individual basis,
but for all of Brooklyn, depends on financial literacy.
While earning a regular paycheck provides the basic
foundation, the ability of each individual to successfully
manage his or her income, by creating a personal
budget and knowing how to invest it sensibly, is a skill
set that everyone should possess…but not everyone
does.
Soon after he was inaugurated, Borough President
Adams — in officially proclaiming every April as
“Financial Literacy Empowerment Month” — launched
his Brooklyn-wide financial literacy initiative to help
people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds
manage their finances, avoid risks, and achieve economic
stability and prosperity. The month-long calendar
of financial literacy events has included free
workshops and public seminars on a broad range of
topics including such basics as budgeting, building an
excellent credit score, financial planning for families,
identity theft, and student loans.
Since the effort’s inaugural run in 2014, Borough
President Adams has worked to offer free programs,
workshops, and seminars continuously to help educate
Brooklyn’s residents about the importance of
good credit and financial literacy. In May of that year,
he began a public awareness campaign with the NYPD
on ATM skimming, alerting Brooklynites to key safety
tips. Last April, he teamed with the New York City
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) to bring free
tax preparation services to Antioch Baptist Church
in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Additionally, he launched a
partnership last November between financial institutions
and 13 underserved schools to offer financial
literacy education in classrooms across the borough.
That venture coincided with the recent release of
his report, “Countering Consumer Debt in Brooklyn:
Strengthening Communities by Raising Financial
Literacy,” a detailed analysis of the borough’s credit
crisis, which includes strong recommendations to
improve financial security.
In making the announcement at P.S. 184 Newport,
a Title I school in Brownsville, Borough President
Adams said that, “It may not be sexy to talk about FICO
scores and savings accounts, but learning basics of
money management is essential if we are going to get
serious about Brooklyn’s consumer debt crisis.”
He explained that the partnership between financial
institutions and underserved schools aims to begin
the shift in the borough’s money culture in residents’
formative years, noting that “A child that overspends
on video games is an adult that may be unable to
balance his or her checkbook tomorrow. We must
build the foundation for healthy financial outcomes
throughout Brooklyn.”
Borough President Adams held a public hearing and
conducted surveys to obtain information from financial
institutions and residents on the condition of the
borough’s financial literacy. His report identifies four
major areas as the causes of Brooklyn’s poor credit: a
lack of economic opportunity in certain communities;
a lack of basic financial education, including topics
such as budgeting and saving; residents living beyond
their available means and practicing poor money
management habits; and a lack of communication in
families about money.
“Countering Consumer Debt in Brooklyn” establishes
a goal of reducing Brooklyn’s credit card and
mortgage delinquency by four percent in four years,
below the national average on these critical measures.
Borough President Adams’ report on consumer
debt and financial literacy builds on his issuing of the
“Four in Four” challenge.
“Restoring the good credit of Brooklynites and
ensuring that we are all financially literate will not
take place overnight,” Borough President Adams
wrote in the report. “However, we can achieve my
‘Four in Four’ goal if we act strategically to promote
financial education at the various policy levels,
encourage financial institutions to act responsibly
and be good members of our communities, as well as
make certain that individuals are proactive in ensuring
that their household budgets are sound.”
In 2016, Borough President Adams has set a goal
to get dozens of additional Brooklyn schools to incorporate
financial education as part of their curriculum.
April of 2016 will feature another round of workshops
that will teach topics targeted for a variety of audiences
— youth, adults, seniors, men, women, home
owners, and renters; information will be available on
these opportunities at brooklyn-usa.org.
Photo: Kathryn Kirk/Brooklyn BP’s Office
Borough President Adams visited an ATM in Downtown Brooklyn as he promoted his financial education
agenda for Brooklynites.
The ABCs of $$$
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