How Banks Could Bring New Hope to Sandy-Stricken Areas

Two years after Superstorm Sandy, Coney Island is still reeling from the damage.  The United Community Baptist Church on Mermaid Street is in shambles, completely gutted after the extensive water damange.  The seperation of church and state doctrine prevents houses of worship to receive federal relief funds.  Without money from the government, places of worship have had to turn to banks; but, banks are not giving out any loans.  

Reverend Connis Mobley, the pastor of the Baptist Church, says he cannot get a loan because the church has been debt free since 2005, so he can't prove that he will be able to pay it off.  He says the restoration will cost over $2 million.  

State officials are partnering with Reverend Mobley to find a solution. Representative Hakeem Jeffries wrote a letter to the biggest banks in America to offer low interest loans to houses of worship still recovering from the storm.