Allen Jay Fishbein

Allen Jay Fishbein, a long-time resident of Kensington, Maryland, passed away after a lengthy illness on May 26, 2023, at the age of 75. Allen was a thoughtful, kind and highly ethical man whose public interest career spanned more than fifty years. He used his considerable intellect and legal talents to help shape national housing and community reinvestment policies that aided residents of low- and moderate- income neighborhoods and helped revitalize their communities. Allen was a nationally recognized expert on the federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and the Community Reinvestment Act. His work led him to travel across the county to share his expertise with local neighborhood activists and leaders interested in challenging “redlining” and other unfair lending practices. He was also called upon many times over the years to provide expert testimony before Congress and to appear as a featured speaker and participant at conferences and panels as varied the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the Federalist Society.

A native New Yorker, Allen worked for the NYC government on neighborhood economic development issues after graduating from Queens College CUNY, and left the city in 1974 for Antioch School of Law, in Washington, D.C. After law school, Allen went to work for the national non-profit Center for Community Change, where he led the Neighborhood Revitalization Project in addition to serving as the Center’s General Counsel during a twenty-five-year tenure. Allen continued his involvement in national housing and community reinvestment policy at Consumer Federation of America. In 2008, he accepted an invitation to join the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. Allen played an important role there in the development of the Board’s Community Reinvestment Act policy and its widely cited Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, and his work helped the Board deepen its insight into consumer and community development issues affecting low- and moderate- income communities. Allen retired in 2020.

Allen was an unpretentious man with a wonderful sense of humor. His colleagues remember him for his warmth and collegiality and his ability to achieve consensus, and there were many who benefited from his lifelong commitment to fostering the talents of others. His friends knew him as someone who was loyal and found the time to stay in touch, listen and be helpful. Allen’s commitment to democracy, fairness and the rule of law was evident in the way he lived and worked. He always felt privileged and humbled that over the course of his life and career he got to meet, work with, and learn from people from so many diverse backgrounds and circumstances. His work engaged and challenged him, and he felt fortunate to find himself in the company of such talented and impressive colleagues. In his off hours, Allen was an avid fan of the NY Yankees (and the Nationals and Orioles too, if they were not playing the Yankees). He read extensively, particularly in American history, and had a great interest in the Civil War, American political history, and the civil rights movement. He loved all kinds of music, was knowledgeable about art, movies, theater and relished a lively discussion of current events and a good dinner with friends. He was awed by nature, and he especially relished travelling and would have done more but for the pandemic and illness.

Allen had a deep love for his family, both immediate and extended. He was a devoted husband for 45 years to his wife, Jennifer Crowe, and a proud and supportive father to his son, Eli, both of whom survive him. He is and will always be missed. Those who wish to honor Allen’s memory might consider a donation to Legal Services Corporation (lsc.gov)