Credit union on way to LIC

BY DESPINA KOUVAROS

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 5:24 PM EST

Traditional banking will not be the choice for many in the Long Island City area when a simpler and more personal service will become available to them by as early as April of 2010.

The East River Development Alliance (ERDA) has chartered a credit union, one of two across the nation approved by the National Credit Union Administration in 2009. It is a financial institution that is member-owned with a low-income designation that would also accept non-member deposits.

Bishop Mitchell G. Taylor, president and founder of ERDA, a non-profit organization established in 2004 to help public housing residents by expanding their economic opportunities, believes that the credit union is what the community needs.

The ERDA Federal Credit Union will differ from traditional big banks in that “People use a bank like they are leasing space to put their money in,” Taylor said, “while in a credit union, you will own the property.”

The credit union, which will be located at 12-11 40th Avenue in Long Island City, will serve approximately 323,000 low-income residents in Queens Community Boards 1 and 2, including the neighborhoods of Long Island City, Astoria, Woodside, Pomonac houses and Ravenswood houses. Additionally, residents from South Jamaica will have access to the credit union, Taylor said.

Initially, the credit union will provide check cashing services in addition to regular shares, club accounts, share certificates, personal loans, credit builder loans, credit repair loans, and share secured loans. By 2013, the credit union plans to add ATM services, online banking, wire transfers and share draft accounts.

According to Taylor, ERDA’s credit union would benefit residents by providing them with the tools necessary to finally establish a credit account and allowing small business owners to be financed for their projects in low-income communities.

For more information on the ERDA Federal Credit Union, visit www.erdalliance.org.