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The bank threw a party and raised a Juntos Avanzamos flag on Monday to honor the designation.
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Nancy Gomez.
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Clarissa Ritter reading the proclamation with Greylock's Gloria Escobar, Cindy Shogry-Raimer, and John Bissell.
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Rene Vargas Martinez.
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Linda Tyer.
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Ronald McLean.
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The event included entertainment.
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Gloria Escobar.
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A number of restaurants were providing free food to the attendees.
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A number of restaurants were providing free food to the attendees.

Greylock Reaffirms Commitment to Serve Latino Community

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Gomez's children helped her with her speech, going so far as to translate the last piece of her remarks in fluent English.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Nancy Gomez arrived in America in the fall of 2017 with a dream for her family to own their own home.
 
She came from Colombia with her husband, three children, and pregnant. In a new country, the financial system was intimidating.
 
But she had gained some confidence through places like the Family Resource  Center, the Elizabeth Freeman Center, Manos Unidas, Working Cities, and Habitat for Humanity and eventually, walked into Greylock Federal Credit Union to meet with the credit union's Community Development Coordinator Gloria Escobar.
 
"We started this project taking steps that caused fear in the beginning but if you have good accompaniment, that fear disappears little by little," Gomez said, speaking through a translator, on Monday.
 
Escobar got the family a secured line of credit. And then they moved onto a secured credit card. In just 18 months, they were able to get their credit score high enough to be approved for a home loan. 
 
"One of our biggest dreams has been buying our own house and I am sure it is a dream most of you share with me. Now thanks to Greylock, that is a reality because we've been living in our own house for more than a month," Gomez said.
 
It is a dream that many in the Hispanic community share. But, still, many aren't served by financial institutions the way Gomez was served. On Monday, Greylock doubled down on their efforts to serve the Hispanic population when it received a "Juntos Avanzamos" designation.
 
The designation -- which means together we advance -- is part of a movement to build a network of banking institutions taking efforts to better serve the Hispanic and Latino community. 
 
Rene Vargas Martinez, program officer at Inclusiv which heads the effort, said there are some 60 million Hispanics in the nation and about 6,000 in Berkshire County, yet they've been underserved by financial institutions. The designation is a commitment from the credit union to employ more bilingual and culturally-competent staff and "treat all of their members  with respect, regardless of immigration status."
 
"For some, Latino continues to be invisible even though the economic, cultural, and social impact of the Hispanic population in the United States has grown substantially in recent years. We remain and underbanked and underserved sector of the population. Millions of Hispanics still hide their money under mattresses and go to check cashers or payday lenders for their most personal needs at a staggering personal cost," he said.
 
"But today there is hope in Pittsfield, Lenox, Lee, Great Barrington, Adams, Dalton, and Williamstown. Greylock Federal Credit Union has proven that given the tools it is possible to revitalize communities that have been written off by mainstream financial institutions."
 
Martinez said the program was launched in 2015 and now includes 95 credit unions serving more than 5.9 million members at 735 branches spanning 26 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.
 
"We seek to establish a strong national network of credit unions truly committed to meeting the financial needs of Hispanic and immigrant consumers," he said.
 
The designation was particularly driven by Escobar, who vowed to continue to help the Hispanic community achieve financial goals.
 

Greylock President John Bissell reaffirmed the credit union's dedication to serve everyone in the community.
"We promise to give you the best service and support to make your financial goals and dreams come true," Escobar said.
 
The move was heralded by Cooperative Credit Union Association President Ronald McLean as he looks to extend the designation throughout the credit union system.
 
"Today's celebration to me is the start of a broader outreach of Junto Avanzamos beyond the Berkshires. We are aiming to bring Junto Avanzamos across the state and across the northeast," McLean said.
 
The celebration on Monday at Greylock's West Street branch was attended by state Sen. Adam Hinds, state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, North Adams Mayor Thomas Bernard, and Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer. Tyer praised the effort to be more inclusive.
 
"Our dream for our city is that all are welcome. There is enough room for all of us in our beautiful city and we are to celebrate what makes us unique," Tyer said.

Tags: banking,   hispanic,   

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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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