Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Bloomberg: Blame Congress, Not Banks, For Housing Crisis
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 1, 2011
Modified Nov 1, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 1, 2011
Modified Nov 1, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
At a breakfast for ABNY this morning in Midtown, Mayor Bloomberg told a room of the 1% exactly what it wanted to hear: those kids in Zuccotti Park are misguided. "It was not the banks that created the mortgage crisis," Hizzoner said, "It was, plain and simple, Congress who forced everybody to go and give mortgages to people who were on the cusp." You hear that Attorney General Schneiderman? Leave those innocent banks alone!
Azi Paybarah reports that Bloomberg rhetorically told the protesters, "I hear your complaints. Some of them are totally unfounded," and made the point that the members of Congress "were the ones who pushed Fannie and Freddie to make a bunch of loans that were imprudent, if you will." Good point! Who can forget the Give People Shitty Mortgages, Bundle And Sell Them For Profit Before Betting Against Them Act of 2005?
While Congress (and especially the Bush administration) did in fact push for increased lending to homeowners, they certainly didn't advocate for collateralized debt obligations to be bought, sold, and repackaged to the point where banks like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup bet against them and misled investors to turn a profit. But that was probably Congress' fault too.
Former Mayor Ed Koch was also at the breakfast, and took a more reasoned tone. "I'm not an enemy of Wall Street," Koch said. "I love the stock market..."I would differ with respect to blame here." He continued:
Let's take Goldman Sachs. It's fined by the S.E.C. $550 million. What the hell do they care. That's the cost of doing business. Citigroup, fined $285 million. What do you think they got fined for? Schmutz on the sidewalk?
They got fined because they abused their relationship with their clientele. And I want to see somebody, and I haven't seen it happen yet, some C.E.O., some F.O. C.F.O., I want to see one of them from a major corporation punished, criminally. They beggared the people in this country. More than $2 trillion was lost in the great recession. There's something wrong with a kid who steals a bike going to jail and someone who steals millions paying a fine.
Not to Mayor Bloomberg. Occupy Wall Street protesters: you've had your fun (-sized candy bar) now it's time to head to DC.
Tagged
1%
99%
economy
ed koch
mayor bloomberg
mortgage crisis
occupy wall street
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
These are the NYC neighborhoods that will get free 2-K next fall
All of Staten Island and the Bronx will be eligible for seats.
By
Karen Yi
Published Oct 19, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. ET
Early Addition: Get to know Wanda, the donkey in the Met's 'La Bohème'
Because she's 18 years old now, here are your early links: The RHONY castmember mentioned in the Epstein Files, killing rats with carbon monoxide, Selena Gomez says don't vape and more.
By
James Ramsay
News
Early Addition: Get to know Wanda, the donkey in the Met's 'La Bohème'
Because she's 18 years old now, here are your early links: The RHONY castmember mentioned in the Epstein Files, killing rats with carbon monoxide, Selena Gomez says don't vape and more.
By
James Ramsay
Eric Adams' NYC buildings boss Eric Ulrich heads to trial, 3 years after arrest
By
David Brand
and
Samantha Max
Need help with mental health or addiction services? NYC has a new tool.
By
Caroline Lewis
NYC sues personal injury law firm accused of bogus trip-and-fall claims
By
Walter Wuthmann
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .