April is Brooklyn Financial Literacy Empowerment Month

With the goal of empowering Brooklynites to take charge of their finances, Borough President Eric Adams launched the very first Brooklyn Financial Literacy Empowerment Month, which will extend throughout April.

At a kickoff held in the rotunda of Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, Adams stressed, “Financial literacy is a crucial tool that can be used to achieve economic stability and prosperity across the borough. We need to assist everyone from the youngest resident to residents living in their golden years to everyone in between, and help Brooklyn residents make financially sound decisions.”

The numbers, as recited by Adams, are staggering. For every $54 million spent on consumer marketing, just $5 million is spent on financial education, he said, noting that the average credit card debt is $15,252; the average mortgage debt is $152,000, and the average student loan debt is over $32,000.

To help Brooklynites understand money matters, therefore, Adams put together a coalition of local groups and businesses which will be holding events during the month of April around the borough on a wide range of financial subjects and for people of various ages, from constructing a sensible budget to improving one’s credit score, as well as sessions on how to recognize a scam targeted particularly at the elderly and identity theft.

The initiative will culminate on April 29, with Financial Literacy Empowerment Day, which will be observed with programs across the borough. By the end of the month, as well, a guide to financial literacy will be available for distribution and on the borough president’s website, Brooklyn-usa.org.

Wendy Scarlett, a vice president at Popular Bank, said that the initiative provides a, “Much needed focus. Financial education opens doors and makes dreams possible,” she stressed.

Denise Arbesu, chairperson of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and a vice president at Citibank, emphasized that creditworthiness is something that travels with an individual throughout his or her life.

“It starts the moment you’re born and continues to the moment you’re gone,” she said, noting that a key is “making people how to correct problems, but more importantly, how not to have these problems. You can’t rent an apartment, get a mortgage or get the best rate without a clean credit score.”

It’s all about strengthening families, added Adams. “We expect adults to be financially sound when there is no formal training to teach them basic skills,” noted Adams, who stressed, “Financial strain tears apart families. We want to raise healthy families and children in Brooklyn and one way of doing it is making sure families are financially sound.”

For information about the events that have been scheduled, go to Brooklyn-usa.org/financialliteracyempowerment.html.