Immigrant Community

DCA Announced More Than 17,200 Mexican Nationals in NYC Received Financial Education and Counseling

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2016

CONSULATE GENERAL OF MEXICO, DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND CITI RELEASE NEW REPORT:
VENTANILLA DE ASESORÍA FINANCIERA PROVIDES FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND COUNSELING TO MORE THAN 17,200 MEXICAN NATIONALS IN NEW YORK CITY

The Second Anniversary of the Financial Counseling Window Kicks Off the Consulate’s Financial Education Week 2016

NEW YORK, NY – Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) First Deputy Commissioner Alba Pico, Consul General of Mexico Ambassador Sandra Fuentes-Berain and Citi Community Development released a report today, Ventanilla de Asesoría Financiera: Program Insights for the Field, showing the results of the first year of the Ventanilla de Asesoría Financiera (Financial Empowerment Window). In just one year, the Ventanilla provided financial education or counseling to more than 17,200 Mexican nationals in New York and helped nearly 1,000 Mexican nationals file taxes for the first time in the United States. To date, these numbers have more than doubled. The financial empowerment at the Ventanilla has touched the lives of more than 44,000 Mexican nationals in New York City. The announcement took place at the celebration of the second anniversary of the Ventanilla, which also kicked off the Consulate’s fifth Financial Education Week. The first two years of the program were made possible through the generous support from Citi Community Development in partnership with the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. Counseling services are provided by Ariva.

“The Mexican community is one of the largest immigrant groups in New York City and while our Financial Empowerment Centers reach a high number of New Yorkers, we still had not reached this community,” said DCA First Deputy Commissioner Alba Pico. “Addressing income inequality is a key priority for Mayor de Blasio and this program is one of the ways to address that. We’re proud of the great milestones we’ve reached and look forward to not only increasing the number of Mexican nationals we reach but helping other municipalities and consulates implement this program using the findings of this report.”

Read the full press release: Ventanilla de Asesoria Financiera Results

The City Encourages New Yorkers to Use IDNYC to File Their Taxes for Free

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2016

AMERICA SAVES WEEK: CITY ENCOURAGES NEW YORKERS TO USE IDNYC TO FILE THEIR TAXES FOR FREE AND OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT TO SAVE THEIR REFUND

Bronx Event Highlights Free Tax Prep during America Saves Week and Opening a Bank Account Using IDNYC

BRONX, NY – Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Acting Commissioner Alba Pico and Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) Commissioner Nisha Agarwal today joined Spring Bank President Eric Pallos and Ariva Executive Director Irene Baldwin to encourage New Yorkers to use their IDNYC to file their taxes for free and, as part of America Saves Week 2016, open a bank account where they can save their refund. New Yorkers who earned $54,000 or less with children, or $30,000 or less without children, can file their taxes for free at one of more than 200 in-person sites across the city, like the Ariva site at Spring Bank in the Bronx. IDNYC is accepted as the photo ID needed to file your taxes. Spring Bank also accepts IDNYC as a primary form of identification to open a bank account.

“Tax season is a very crucial moment for many families with lower and moderate incomes as their refund is often one of the largest checks they’ll receive all year,” said DCA Acting Commissioner Alba Pico. “We encourage New Yorkers, especially the immigrant community in the Bronx, to know that they can use their IDNYC to file their taxes for free and they can also use tax time as an opportunity to save and open a bank account using their IDNYC.”

Read the full press release here: IDNYC and Free Taxes for New Yorkers

Telemundo 47 Responde: Agencias de empleo

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employment agency piece-telemundo

Telemundo 47 Responde: Agencias de trabajo
Liz Gonzalez

I pitched a story on DCA’s announcement on the results of its multi-pronged approach to combating predatory employment agency practices. Liz Gonzalez, who covers Telemundo’s consumer protection segment interviewed DCA’s First Deputy Commissioner Alba Pico on the results of the investigation and what job seekers should know when using employment agencies.

Click the image above to watch the full report.

Click here to read the press release.

DCA Launches Citywide Business Education Tour with the City’s Chambers of Commerce

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 14, 2014

DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS LAUNCHES CITYWIDE BUSINESS EDUCATION TOUR WITH THE CITY’S CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Julie Menin today launched DCA’s five-borough Business Education Tour in Brooklyn. The event series, in partnership with the chambers of commerce in each borough, is to educate business owners and other key leaders about the nearly two-dozen reforms that DCA has implemented to bring relief to thousands of small businesses in New York City. The Small Business Relief Package, which DCA announced in July, has reduced the number and cost of violations, increased transparency and fairness, and is expanding outreach and education to businesses. Commissioner Menin will meet with businesses in all five boroughs at breakfast events hosted by the chambers of commerce over the next three weeks.

Read the full press release: NYC Business Tour

Grand Opening Event of the Ventanilla de Asesoría Financiera at the Consulate General of Mexico

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2014

DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF MEXICO IN NEW YORK CUT THE RIBBON ON THE VENTANILLA DE ASESORÍA FINANCIERA TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL COUNSELING SERVICES TO MEXICAN NEW YORKERS

Financial Counseling Window Opening Kicks Off the Consulate’s Financial Education Week

Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) First Deputy Commissioner Alba Pico, Ambassador and Consul General of Mexico Sandra Fuentes-Berain, and President of the Mexican National Agency for the Protection and Defense of the Users of Financial Services Mario Di Costanzo today cut the ribbon on the first Ventanilla de Asesoría Financiera (Financial Counseling Window) at the Mexican Consulate of New York and kicked off the Consulate’s Financial Education Week.  The Ventanilla will offer one-on-one financial counseling to Mexican New Yorkers, provide access to a broad network of services at the Consulate, and help Mexican nationals and families living in New York City achieve greater financial security.  The program is made possible through generous support from Citi Community Development in partnership with the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund and counseling services are provided by Ariva and Qualitas of Life Foundation.

Read the full press release: Mexican Consulate Ventanilla Launch

New Report Reveals Banking Needs of Three of NYC’s Growing Immigrant Communities

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 19, 2013

DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS RELEASES REPORT REVEALING BANKING NEEDS OF THREE OF NEW YORK CITY’S GROWING IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES

 80 Percent of Immigrant Survey Participants Who Make Less than $300 a Week Report Savings

The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Office of Financial Empowerment today, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), released the Immigrant Financial Services Study Research Brief, which surveyed more than 1,300 immigrants from China, Ecuador and Mexico to deepen the City’s understanding of the financial service needs and behaviors of New York City’s diverse and vibrant immigrant community. It revealed that, while all three groups have savings, some have a longer pathway to banking than others, in part due to misperceptions about the process of opening a banking account and access to financial institutions. The Study is part of MOIA’s One NYC One Nation initiative to strengthen immigrant communities and was made possible by generous support from Citi Community Development and New York Community Trust.

Read the full press release: Immigrant Financial Services Study