In this story, who's David and who's Goliath depends on who's looking. What's at stake is a chance to lift up those often overlooked — even in the goliath of a city known as New York.
Pitter runs Pantora Bridal. She designs wedding dresses, employs a dozen people, and symbolizes community success. But even in this context, this Goliath is still David. She's a David who's taken out multiple loans in 10 years. And she received them from another David, nearby in the borough. In the world of small business loans, Brooklyn Coop is a David. The biggest banks every year give out thousands of small-business loans averaging hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece. Last year Brooklyn Coop approved 11 loans, averaging $24,000 each. But for their communities, cooperative federal credit unions are very much Goliaths, because those smaller loans can set up long-term wealth.