We will be a more prepared community in 2013 as we rebuild together

LES PEOPLE’S FCU wants to wish all our members, friends and families a happy and prosperous new year. In this moment of reflection for the next year, one of our major priorities is the recovery from Hurricane Sandy.
Our main branch was closed during a week due to the lack of power and we still have two ATMs out of service in Avenue C due to Verizon lines being down. Our members in that area don’t have phone services as yet and there are still New Yorkers that will spend the Holidays with no electrical power.
We have provided support and made available alternatives to our members who were victims of Sandy. We waived the out of network ATM withdrawal fees during the week we were closed, we have provided loan extensions to reduce monthly payments to our affected borrowers and we have handled to the best of our efforts case by case situations: waiving late fees, delaying payment due dates, providing emergency loans and increasing lines of credit when needed.
For our small business owners, we are building a list of our local business’ damages and needs. This is an ongoing project, our business member’s feedback has suggested that the true impact will be calculated in the months to come and that their situations are more complex than to be alleviated with short term loans.
For all our members and community, we have compiled a page of relief efforts resources. This document is available in our branches and on our website in English and Spanish.
Finally, we hosted a meeting with Treasury Officials, Assistant Secretary Cyrus Amir-Mokri and Deputy Assistant Secretary Donet Graves, to discuss Hurricane Sandy’s impact on our Lower East Side community and the support that Community Development Financial Institutions can provide in the aftermath.
Moving forward, we expect to promote more support to small business owners in the forms of marketing training, Sandy relief tax preparation at our VITA sites, advocate for government support, and why not? government grants.
Let’s learn from our experiences and be more prepared for the next challenge; we appreciate the understanding and support our members, friends and community have offered. We will be a more prepared community in 2013 as we rebuild together.