Community Affairs:
Comptroller Bus Tour of Harlem and the Bronx

On February 29^th Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan toured Harlem and the Bronx with representatives from six banks and several local community organizations. The tour highlighted initiatives and investments made possible by banks such as JP Morgan Chase, Citi, HSBC, Capital One/North Fork Bank, City National Bank of New Jersey, and Wachovia Bank, as well as community organizations such as Neighborhood Housing Services of NYC, Abyssinian Development Corporation, Living Cities, and Social Compact.

The tour was a celebration of hard work, caring, and commitment to community revitalization and a testament to the dedication of national banks and their partners—local non-profits and government agencies—to improving the quality of life for low-wealth persons and to redeveloping the landscape of distressed communities.

Read the Comptroller's statement following the tour of Harlem and the Bronx. View a slideshow of the sites visited on the tour.

	Tour participants visit Elm Place in the Bronx, a block that has been starkly affected by subprime lending. Natalie Abatemarco, Director of North America Community Programs at Citi, discusses the impact of foreclosures on communities with Barry Wides, Deputy Comptroller for Community Affairs while Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan and Kathleen Rizzo, Senior Vice President in the Community Development Department at HSBC look on.
	The last stop on the tour was a visit to the Fordham Leadership Academy for Business and Technology at Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Bronx. North Fork Bank, a division of Capital One Bank, operates a bank branch in the school. Stacey Cooper, Senior Vice President, Community Reinvestment Act at North Fork Bank discusses the initiative with Dugan and Barry Wides as they enter Fordham Leadership Academy for Business and Technology.
	Comptroller Dugan met in the bank branch with students and the school principal, Richard Bost, who explains the benefits that bank branch has brought to the school. Looking on is David Isaac, a Vice President at North Fork/Capital One Bank, who has been a mentor to the students and was instrumental in the startup and ongoing operations of the bank branch.
	Two students working at the bank branch at Theodore Roosevelt High School demonstrate how they are building important life skills and helping their peers understand the importance of financial literacy.
	Comptroller Dugan and tour participants look on while students demonstrate the interactive "Financial Jeopardy" game that they developed to help their classmates learn about financial literacy issues such as credit reports and responsible use of credit cards.
	Comptroller Dugan talks with students at the Fordham Leadership Academy for Business and Technology. The students explain what they have learned working at the bank branch.