Community rallies to reopen banks on Burnside Avenue

If the pandemic wasn’t hard enough for the Bronx, people from the community in Burnside are outraged that vital banks remain closed and others are scheduled to close.
Community members say they want the Chase Bank and Amalgamated Bank on Burnside Avenue to reopen and serve their community.
For the last several months, the Chase branch has been closed despite other branches being up and running throughout the city. Pierina Sanchez, from the Jerome Avenue Revitalization Collaborative, says Amalgamated Bank has planned to permanently close this branch.
People from the community gathered Monday in front of Amalgamated Bank hoping their voices would be heard.
The organizer says locals and small businesses are left with few options for financial services in the neighborhood.
Organizers say they hope Amalgamated Bank does not abandon the location, and instead invests in this community.
A spokesperson for Amalgamated Bank told News 12 in a statement, "Amalgamated remains a dedicated bank for Burnside residents. Throughout the pandemic, our team has proactively reached out to more than 1,000 Burnside customers – most of our Burnside customer base – to help them gain access to online and mobile banking, provide ATM and debit cards, and provide products, services and information on how Amalgamated can serve them during these trying times.  Amalgamated remains committed to providing continued resources for financial literacy in the Burnside community and in our other Bronx branch location; offering remote transition services, including live online training, as well as a dedicated phone number and email for Burnside clients to get support; and, in addition to the 40,000+ Allpoint ATMs across the country – 25 of which are within one mile of the Burnside Branch - we are working to get customers access to Allpoint +, deposit accepting ATMs in the area.”