Executive Chairman, Dime Community Bancshares
Search every verified Kenneth Mahon interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Kenneth Mahon, President and CEO of Dime Community Bank, promoted the bank's #DimeGivesBack charity initiative in 2018 and 2017. In a 2018 video, he stated that the program raised over $20,000 in November 2017 for over 50 local community nonprofits, and he invited customers to participate again by posting what they were thankful for on social media, with the bank making a donation on their behalf. In a 2017 video, he described the bank as originally founded to serve New York's working class and said the bank remains connected to its communities. In a 2015 interview, Mahon discussed the bank's history and his personal background. He said he was born in 1964, lived in Williamsburg until 1991, and had worked at the bank for over 30 years. He described the bank as "the last Brooklyn savings bank headquartered still here in Brooklyn," and noted that it nearly went out of business in the early 1980s due to high interest rates. He attributed neighborhood changes to Mayor Bloomberg's 2005 zoning changes, which he said permitted residential development in formerly commercial-industrial areas. He also stated that the bank focuses on lending on pre-war apartment buildings where low- and moderate-income people can afford to live, and that it works with community organizations to prevent evictions.
“Last year we asked you to participate in our first ever social media campaign Dime Gives Back. Many of you participated by posting a picture or video of what you were thankful for along with the name of the charity you support and the hashtag Dime Gives Back to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.”
“As a result, the Dime Gives Back program raised over $20,000 last November for over 50 local community nonprofits.”
“This year we're inviting you again to join us in our efforts to give back to our communities. It's simple: share with us what you're thankful for this giving season by posting a picture or video along with the name of the charity you support and the hashtag Dime Gives Back to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.”
“Then Dime will make a donation on your behalf to your favorite local charity on behalf of Dime and the organizations that will benefit from your support.”
“We were originally founded to serve New York's expanding working class, and our populations and neighborhoods have changed since then.”
“We're connected to your neighbors — this is about compassion and professionalism, and we continue to reach out to these kinds of community.”
“It's a special time — please take the time to make a donation on your behalf to local charities; best wishes to you and your family for the holiday season.”
“This is our time to show compassion and professionalism — time connected to your neighbors.”
“We continue the focus on serving these communities simply and directly — encouraging people to give their time and support.”
“We are proud of our long history as a high-value financial institution connected to New York communities.”
“When Giuliani became the mayor he just literally cleaned up the city. You didn't see broken cars around... the quality of life issues started when Giuliani got in. It really changed the neighborhood.”
“It didn't change until 2005 when Bloomberg changed the zoning laws down here and permitted a lot of residential to be built in areas that were only zoned for commercial industrial... as soon as that happened you started seeing the tearowns and what you see happening today going on with Domino and so forth.”
“We became a multifamily lender. So we lend on a lot of pre-war apartment houses... that's our stock and trade. We lend really on low loan-to-value buildings where the rents are low — a lot of our buildings are still buildings where low and moderate income people can afford to live.”
“In the book we refer to it as corporate DNA... the old Germans were very conservative people and I think... that DNA that formed the company in the first place kind of carried on through all those years.”
“There were a couple of times where the place nearly went out of business... in the early 80s when interest rates went up so high that the tabloids would have columns about how many quarters the savings banks had left of capital before they get put out of business.”
Our Streets, Our Stories: A Project of the Brooklyn Public Library Leonard Library Recorded 2.10.15 Interviewees: Kenneth J.
Sign in to search the full transcript archive, filter by topic, and access every quote from Kenneth Mahon.
The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →