Amalgamated Bank Appoints LIC Branch Manager

Photo I. Cohen Renovations are on track for the April opening of the Amalgamated Bank branch located at 21st Street and 36th Avenue in Long Island City. Jocelyn "Josh" Andre (r.), who will manage the retail banking location, talks with Glenn B. Martin, Executive Construction Services project foreman and supervisor.

Amalgamated Bank has appointed experienced banker Jocelyn "Josh" Andre, 58, as the manager of its new branch that will be opening in Long Island City in April 2007.

Some neighborhoods in Queens seem to have too many bank branches, but in the area of 21st Street and 36th Avenue, there are none. Residents in neighborhoods lacking a local bank branch reluctantly go to high-cost check cashing firms, use high-fee ATMs or walk for 20 to 25 minutes to the nearest bank. The 2,400- square-foot Amalgamated Bank retail branch, located near the intersection of 21st Street and 36th Avenue and currently under renovation, is the first bank branch to open in this neighborhood in many decades.

Efforts by Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, Assemblymember Catherine Nolan, New York City Comptroller William Thompson, the Rev. Mitchell Taylor, president of the East River Development Alliance, City Councilmember Eric Gioia and other New York City elected officials and community leaders brought the Amalgamated Bank branch to Long Island City. The branch opening also marks the first step in Amalgamated Bank's plan to open more branches in similar "under-banked" communities in the New York metropolitan area during 2007, 2008 and beyond.

"Mr. Andre's appointment to manage our Long Island City branch is significant because he and his team will create a welcoming environment for the area's working people and businesses that truly want and need a convenient, community bank," Derrick D. Cephas, Amalgamated Bank president and chief executive officer, said. "We expect many of our new customers will turn to Mr. Andre and his staff for guidance on many banking, finance and credit issues. It's vital that we have a banker with his experience in this position."

With 35-plus years in banking, the knowhow that Andre brings to the new branch is especially valuable. He previously served as vice president/senior small business relationship manager at JP Morgan Chase, where he increased the bank's market share in many areas of Queens.

Prior to his tenure at JP Morgan Chase, Andre rose to vice president/branch manager at Chase Manhattan Bank. In this position, he was responsible for a branch with $115 million in deposits. Earlier, Andre served as assistant vice president/multi-site branch manager at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Bank.

Andre's banking experience grew as he moved up to more senior level positions with his previous employers. He began his career as a junior teller and was promoted to head teller and then assistant manager. He always worked closely with customers, gaining an ability to build relationships, which will be important in his new role as manager of a true neighborhood bank.

A veteran of the United States Army, Andre was honorably discharged as a Combat Engineer Specialist/ Drill Sergeant. He was educated at New York colleges, including City College of the City University of New York (CUNY).

Andre resides in Valley Stream, New York with his family.

Established in 1923 by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Amalgamated Bank has distinguished itself as the working person's bank. The institution, which is an FDIC-insured commercial bank with $4.3 billion in assets, currently has nine branches in New York City as well as one branch in each of the following locations: New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and Southern California. Amalgamated Bank is owned by UNITE HERE, the labor union formed in 2004 by the merger of UNITE (the clothing, textile and needle trades union) and HERE (the hotel and restaurant employees union).