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s New York City's mayoral campaigns heat up, it's time for city leaders to hold banks accountable and demand change. Behind every slumlord harassing tenants is a bank profiting from their suffering. While landlords are the face of the problem, banks play a crucial role in driving our affordability crisis by providing mortgages, renovation loans, and lines of credit that fuel high rents and neglect.

    A public bank created to serve the public interest could be the key to transforming this broken system. Public banks hold public deposits and reinvest in community needs like affordable housing, small business development, and sustainable infrastructure. By redirecting our tax dollars to a public bank, we can divest from banks that harm New Yorkers and invest in projects that strengthen communities.

    Banks aren't just passive lenders; they're active enablers of a system that prioritizes profits over safe, affordable housing. They ignore the devastating consequences for tenants, including harassment and neglect, as long as landlords promise to generate massive profits. This collusion between banks and predatory landlords fuels gentrification, displacement, and inequality.

    For example, tenants in the Lower East Side were outraged to find that their notorious landlord was backed by a bank that held public deposits, including tax dollars collected from these same city residents. This is just one of many ongoing injustices sparking a growing movement for public banking – a transformative alternative to allowing private banks to hold and profit from our public money.

    We no longer have to rely on Wall Street banks to hold our money. Successful models like the Bank of North Dakota demonstrate the power of public banking to create a future where communities thrive instead of being exploited. New York City must put tenants first by creating a public bank that prioritizes affordable housing and community well-being over corporate profits.