Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation

From: Jill Hamberg [mailto:jhamberg@igc.org]
Sent: Sunday, October 17, 2004 10:29 AM
To: Comments
Subject: Community Reinvestment -- RIN 3064-AC50

I oppose the FDIC's proposal to allow banks with assets above $250 million to be examined as small banks under the Community Reinvestment Act. This policy would reduce lending, investments and services in low-income communities.

I am an urban planner specializing in housing. I have seen the positive effects of CRA in rebuilding areas devastated in New York City after the arson and abandonment of the 1970s. The CRA has been important for both mortgage lending as well as loans to small businesses needed to bring back these communities.

Jill Hamberg
Empire State College / SUNY
325 Hudson St. 5th Fl.
New York, NY 10013