According to a new tally, the Bronx has less banks than any other borough except Staten Island—it has only 154 bank branches compared with 701 in Manhattan, 428 in Queens and 343 in Brooklyn. In some parts of the borough—including the Van Nest neighborhood which hasn't had a bank in over ten years—you can walk for a mile without coming across one, reported the NY Times. “I don’t think you can have a thriving business community without a bank in the area,” said state senator Jeffrey D. Klein. “They really need a bank to serve as the anchor for the community.”
The bank shortage, which was reported by the FDIC, has larger implications than an excess of ATM fees. It's an inconvenience of course, but local officials and politicians say it's also had a soporific affect on the area's economy. Sen. Klein met with bank owners recently to discuss getting a branch for his community though all but one declined a move to the quiet neighborhood outright.
But while Manhattanites complain that Citibank and Bank of America mar the landscape, Van Nest, a quaint old Italian area, continues its quest for a branch of its own. “It sends out a signal like there’s actually life in the neighborhood,” said the fourth-generation owner of a Van Nest funeral parlor. “We won’t be that ‘sleepy’ neighborhood anymore.”
