Image via Google Maps
Ridgewood Savings Bank (“Ridgewood”) announced Wednesday, Sept. 1, that its Sedgwick Avenue branch, located at 3899 Sedgwick Avenue in the Van Cortlandt Village section of the Bronx, will finally remain open. In May, the bank had announced the branch was expected to close, as reported, much to the disappointment of residents.
“We are very pleased to make this announcement,” said Leonard Stekol, Ridgewood Savings Bank chairman, president and CEO. “It’s truly exciting to remain a part of this great community and to continue to provide the award-winning banking services and community programming to which our customers are accustomed.”
Bank officials said that in addition to discussions with the office of New York State Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz of the 81st A.D., over the past several weeks the bank has worked closely with numerous other partners including the New York State Department of Financial Services, University Neighborhood Housing Program, Van Cortlandt Jewish Center, Bronx Community Board 8, Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development, and the Bronx Borough President’s Office to pursue a Banking Development District (BDD) program designation to help Ridgewood Savings Bank continue to serve the financial needs of the community from its Sedgwick Avenue branch location.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said the bank had provided services to an underbanked community for many years, and the Northwest Bronx would benefit greatly as a result of the Sedgwick Avenue branch staying open. “The potential closure of this branch would have severely limited the availability of banking services to this topographically isolated section of the borough, and I am thrilled residents in the area will have an easily accessible community bank close to home,” Diaz Jr. said. “I want to thank the team at Ridgewood Savings Bank for being good neighbors, hearing our concerns, and taking action.”
Jim Buckley, executive director of the University Neighborhood Housing Program, said the news of the Sedgwick branch remaining open and receiving Banking Development District designation came as a huge relief to UNHP, especially during a time of multiple, consecutive bank closures and economic uncertainty in The Bronx, as reported.
“This is a win for The Bronx as a whole!” Buckley said. “UNHP applauds the work of Ridgewood Savings to find a way to keep their Sedgwick Avenue branch open. The bank reached out to us and others in the community as it considered closing the branch. After several conversations, it is really good to know that they heard our feedback, and because of their commitment to serving their customers, as they say, they’ve found a solution.”
Jack Kleinfeld is chair of the Board of Trustees of Van Cortlandt Jewish Center (VCJC). He said as a key factor in the social and religious life of the Van Cortlandt Village community, the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center recognized the need and benefit of having the branch and Ridgewood, which he described as a “partner,” remain in the neighborhood. “It allows them to continue to serve as a financial anchor for the area, just as VCJC serves in other ways,” said Kleinfield. “VCJC was pleased to be able to support their efforts to stay and is even more pleased at their effort’s success.”
Meanwhile, Laura Spalter, chair of Bronx Community Board 8, said the board members were strong advocates for Ridgewood because it provided essential services for local residents and small businesses. “There is no other bank branch within the vicinity of Van Cortlandt Village, and the branch’s closure would have been extremely detrimental to the quality of life of our residents and the overall commercial ecosystem,” she said.
For his part, Dinowitz echoed the sentiments of others involved in the negotiations, saying it was an incredible benefit to the community that Ridgewood was able to keep open the branch. “This particular neighborhood has a dearth of accessible banks to serve local residents and businesses, and I am very pleased that people will not have to travel extensive distances over significant elevation changes in order to access their money,” he said.
“Thank you to the leadership team at Ridgewood Savings Bank for being responsive to our community concerns, and let this be an example for all banks that want to understand how to be good community partners to Bronxites.”
Ridgewood had notified its Sedgwick Avenue and Jerome Avenue branch customers that in order to better serve the community’s banking needs, a new state-of-the-art branch, located at 320 E. 204th Street in the Norwood section of the borough, would open in August.
Bank officials said, like the Sedgwick Avenue branch, the new Norwood branch will offer all the usual banking services, products, and community-based programming, “along with the same, trusted and friendly personnel customers have come to know so well.” They added that existing customers will not need to take any action on their account(s) at the Sedgwick branch.
admin
Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
English
Arabic
Bengali
Chinese (Simplified)
French
Spanish
I’ve banked at Ridgewood Savings Bank on Sedgwick Avenue for nearly a decade . The staff is professional, cordial and informative. It is essential
for me to have active banking alternative to my primary credit union account.
I’m so pleased Ridgewood Bank is remaining in our community.
Best regards,
Karen Y. Armstrong