[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 154 (Tuesday, November 30, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2011]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN HONOR OF THE EAST RIVER DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 30, 2010

  Mrs. MALONEY. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay special tribute to the 
East River Development Alliance, a not-for-profit organization that has 
made extraordinary contributions to the economic and civic life of the 
residents of underserved communities in western Queens. This month, the 
East River Development Alliance (ERDA) is celebrating its Sixth 
Anniversary Fundraiser and Celebration at the Ace Hotel in Manhattan.
  Under the able stewardship of the Bishop Mitchell Taylor, the East 
River Development Alliance helps residents of New York City Housing 
Authority complexes and other New Yorkers with limited income achieve 
economic security and self-empowerment through employment, financial 
counseling and education, college access and community revitalization 
initiatives. ERDA has developed a range of programs to help the more 
than 20,000 residents of public housing in its catchment area to 
achieve economic stability and mobility, and ensure that these 
neighborhoods have access to critical goods and services.
  In the last year alone, the Alliance opened the ERDA Federal Credit 
Union--the first new credit union chartered in New York City in a 
decade; helped more than 150 low-income New Yorkers find good jobs. As 
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg noted in his State of the City 
Address earlier this year, a big impact can be achieved by ``credit 
unions serving public housing residents, like the one Bishop Taylor is 
opening in Long Island City this spring,'' going on to praise him as 
``one banker who truly is doing God's work.'' ERDA has also helped more 
than 500 individuals build savings and reduce debt, is sending a cohort 
of high school seniors to college--nearly all of whom are the first in 
their families to obtain a higher education.
  At its Sixth Anniversary Event, the East River Development Alliance 
is honoring three noteworthy community leaders: Matthew Bishop, 
American Business Editor and New York Bureau Chief of The Economist 
magazine and the author of Philanthrocapitalism; John Rhea, Chairman of 
the New York City Housing Authority; and Diana Taylor, Managing 
Director of the Wolfensohn & Company, LLC and former New York State 
Superintendent of Banking in the administration of Governor George 
Pataki. All are being honored for their outstanding efforts to improve 
the lives of their fellow New Yorkers and the economic vitality of our 
communities.
  Congratulations to Bishop Taylor and the East River Development 
Alliance on another successful year in pursuing its vital mission of 
ensuring public housing communities are neighborhoods of great 
opportunities. Madam Speaker, I salute the work of the East River 
Development Alliance and I ask that my distinguished colleagues join me 
in recognizing the outstanding work of ERDA and its 2010 honorees for 
their many contributions to the civic and spiritual life of our Nation.

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