In the letter sent to customers, a copy of which has been seen by Norwood News, bank representatives write that they will be moving all accounts currently held at the Jerome Avenue branch to a “new and modern nearby branch,” at the 204th Street location.

 

According to bank representatives, customers will receive the same service at the new location as they did at the former one. Addressing customers, they wrote, “There is no action required on your part. Upon closing, your account(s) will automatically be transferred to our conveniently located new Norwood branch.”

 

They also informed their clients that their account numbers will remain unchanged, and that customers can continue to use their existing checks, passbooks and debit cards, as appropriate.

Norwood News previously reported on a break-in and burglary in November 2020 of a Bank of America ATM, located at 3424 Jerome Avenue in Norwood. In addition to the ATM room, a bank branch had previously existed at the location but had closed a few years prior to the robbery. Another local Bank of America branch is still in operation at 3408 Jerome Avenue.

 

Meanwhile, last September, we reported on a rally that was held at 94 E. Burnside Avenue in Mount Hope, part of efforts to keep open the Amalgamated Bank branch at the location. District 14 City Council candidate, Pierina Sanchez, a member of the Jerome Avenue Revitalization Collaborative (JARC), a group which has been advocating for more inclusive economic growth in the area since the Jerome Avenue rezoning took place in 2018, was one of the organizers of that rally.

 

Sanchez is currently leading after first round count in the District 14 Primary Election held Tuesday, June 22. Another Amalgamated bank branch, located at 2178 White Plains Road in Pelham Parkway is listed on the internet as closed. The Amalgamated Bank branch, in that instance, closed on Sept. 25, 2020 and remains closed. During her remarks at the rally, Sanchez had also criticized Chase Bank, which used to have a branch located a few blocks west of the Amalgamated Bank Burnside Avenue location, but which closed in October 2019.

 

A former Chase Bank branch, located at 311 E. 204th St. in Norwood also closed in November 2019, as also reported by Norwood News at the time. A Chase branch still exists in Norwood at 3169 Bainbridge Avenue, after undergoing renovations in 2019, and another Norwood branch is also still open at 3408 Jerome Avenue.

 

In May 2019, an attempted robbery of that Chase Bank branch at 3408 Jerome Avenue was foiled, as reported at the time. Asked to reconfirm which branches were definitely open in the area, a representative from Chase confirmed, “Bainbridge Avenue and Jerome Avenue are open and operating. Our E. 204^th Street branch was consolidated and is no longer open. It is about three blocks from the Bainbridge Avenue branch.”

 

In the meantime, a series of bank robberies has been reported in recent days by the NYPD in different parts of the Bronx and elsewhere in the City. The NYPD is searching for one individual who they believe is responsible for the pattern and has released a photo of the suspect.

 

On Friday, June 25, the individual entered the Chase Bank branch, located at 75 East 161st Street in Concourse and displayed a note to the teller, demanding money. The suspect removed $800 in cash and fled the location. On Saturday, June 26, at around 9.38 a.m., an individual entered Santander Bank, located at 389 East 149th Street in Melrose, and attempted to rob the bank.

On the same day, at approximately 11.19 a.m., the individual entered Apple Bank, located at 169 East 125th Street in East Harlem, and attempted to rob that branch. Police reported that in neither of the latter two incidents was the individual able to remove any cash or valuables.

 

Norwood News reached out to the City’s Independent Budget Office (IBO) in January 2021 to get a sense of the overall impact of the pandemic on Wall Street revenues in 2020, and to understand if the impact had had a significant effect on the availability of local bank branches across the City. Despite reports that some firms (including some financial firms) had left the city amid the crisis, it transpired that Wall Street actually had something of a bumper year.

 

According to an IBO report published in January 2021, New York Stock Exchange member firms profits soared to $27.6 billion over the first half of 2020, and the IBO projected that profits would top $47 billion for the year as a whole—a total exceeded only in 2009 according to the IBO, when Wall Street was rebounding from steep losses at the onset of the Great Recession. The IBO also forecast at that time that Wall Street profits would subside to $25 billion in 2021 and then hold in the $23 billion to $25 billion range over the rest of the financial plan period.

 

The city’s economy was impacted by the pandemic of course. According to the IBO, it was due to collect $11.3 billion less tax revenue than had been anticipated —a 4.2 percent revenue shortfall that the IBO said at the time tested the city’s ability to meet its mandate to maintain a balanced budget.

 

The IBO provided us with an updated assessment of Wall Street’s position as of May 23, 2021, saying, “Wall Street profits were $50.9 billion last year, up over 80 percent from 2019.” The representative added, “But we expect profits will fall to more usual levels over the next few years.”