Margert in the News
FHA
Brings the Holidays Home with a Special Homes Sales Event
The Full Story
For Release
Tuesday
December, 5 2006
WASHINGTON - To help increase homeownership opportunities during this holiday
season, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is launching its
special "FHA Brings the Holidays Home" sales campaign. This campaign is
especially designed for low- to moderate-income families that may believe
homeownership is out of their reach, by offering special incentives on the sale
of HUD-owned single-family properties across the country.
"Buying a home is always an important event for a family," said Federal Housing
Commissioner Brian D. Montgomery. "We want to make the homebuying process even
more special this holiday season, by helping more families realize the American
dream."
During the "FHA Brings the Holidays Home" sales event, homebuyers who purchase a
HUD-owned home and finance the purchase with an FHA-insured loan will be
entitled to valuable sales incentives including:
-
$2,500 Holiday Home Improvement Allowance
-
$500 Selling Broker Bonus
-
Minimum Required Downpayment of Only $100
The incentives are effective for HUD homes sold
between Friday, December 8, 2006 and Friday, January 5, 2007 to homebuyers who
intend to occupy the property as their primary residence for at least 12 months
and who do not currently have an FHA-insured mortgage.
In addition to the special holiday sales incentives,
buyers may also receive a credit for up to three percent (3%) of closing costs,
a benefit HUD provides on most of its home sales.
This special sales offer may not be combined with
other HUD discount sales including sales under the Good Neighbor Next Door
Program, sales to nonprofit organizations, or sales to disaster evacuees.
More information about this initiative is available by calling 1-800-CALL-FHA,
or on the Internet at
www.hud.gov and
espanol.hud.gov.
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Homeowner Empowerment
Meeting
The Full Story
Friday, December 8, 2006....The City of New York Department of Housing
Preservation and Development and the PACE Foreclosure Prevention Program, in
cooperation with Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, invite all to join us
at the Southeast Queens Homeowner Empowerment Meeting on Thursday, December 14,
2006 at 6:30 PM.
This important meeting is an opportunity for Queens property owners and
homebuyers to learn about:
- Free homeownership and mortgage counseling
- Affordable refinance loans
- Special loan programs
- Foreclosure Prevention legal services
- Protection against home loan and real estate scams
The meeting will be held at I.S. 53, 1045 Nameoke Street, Far Rockaway,
Queens. Take the A train to the Far Rockaway station, the last stop, or
the Q113 bus to Cornaga and Nameoke or Central and Nameoke.
Please call 212-863-8680 by December 12th to confirm your attendance.
If you cannot attend the meeting, but would like more information or advice,
please call 311.
HPD's PACE partners are: the Legal Aid Society, Margert Community
Corporation, the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP), the
Parodneck Foundation and South Brooklyn Legal Services.
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Thanksgiving Thanks from St.
Mary's
The Full Story
The Wave, December 15, 2006....On behalf of all of the people of Saint Mary
Star of the Sea Parish in Far Rockaway, I would like to thank all of the
generous people of the peninsula for their generosity in assisting those most in
need in our community during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Over the last few weeks our parish has received
generous donations from so many. In particular, we are especially grateful to
Mike Egan and the Rockaway Irish Boys for organizing, once again, a wonderful
Thanksgiving food collection. Thanks to the R.I.B.’s and all of the
generous people of Belle Harbor and Rockaway; our parish was able to feed over
500 families this Thanksgiving! These fine young men gave of their time and
talent to assist those most in need during this holiday season. They along with
the Graybeards; the residents of Belle Harbor and Neponsit; the parishioners of
St. Francis de Sales and St. Thomas More/St. Edmund/St. Genevieve Parish; The
Rockaway Chamber of Commerce and countless others who gave so much. We are so
grateful for the kindness and generosity that was so evident over these last few
weeks. Each year I am consistently amazed at the generosity of the people of our
communities.
Thanks to all who gave, our parish was able to serve
a full Thanksgiving meal to over 200 Far Rockaway residents on Thanksgiving Day.
People who would have perhaps been alone were able to come together with friends
and neighbors and see the love and goodness that make Rockaway so unique.
The people of this great community should be very
proud of their care and concern for others at Thanksgiving and all throughout
the year. Thanks to all who gave so much!
Fr. Jim Cunningham, Pastor
St. Mary Star of the Sea
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Mayor Bloomberg and NYCHA
Chairman Hernandez Announce the Reopening of the Section 8 Voucher List for
First Time in Twelve Years
The Full Story
January 29, 2007....Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)
Chairman Tino Hernandez today announced the availability of 22,000 new Section 8
housing vouchers for very low-income families seeking affordable housing in New
York City. Because of the availability of new vouchers, NYCHA’s Section 8
voucher waiting list will reopen for the first time in 12 years. Individuals and
families who secure Section 8 vouchers can seek housing in a neighborhood of
their choice from any private landlord who accepts the vouchers. The Mayor also
announced that 3,000 of these vouchers will be targeted specifically to
households at risk of homelessness. With a voucher, qualified families pay 30%
of their income toward the Fair Market Rent set by the federal government; NYCHA
pays the remainder directly to the private landlord. The announcement was made
at the Queens Section 8 Applications Office in Corona as the Department of
Homeless Services and the City of New York prepares for the fifth annual
Homeless Street Count tonight.
“Our efforts to expand access to affordable housing have taken a step forward
today,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “In addition to the 165,000 units of affordable
housing we have committed to building or preserving by 2013, we are able to
distribute these 22,000 new section 8 vouchers to families struggling to make
ends meet. Continued Federal support for Section 8, as well as public housing,
is critical to ensuring people from all backgrounds can raise families in New
York City, and we’ve been aggressive in our advocacy. I would like to thank HUD
Secretary Alfonso Jackson and our entire Congressional delegation for their
critical support on this issue.”
“NYCHA is pleased to be able to offer New York City residents the chance to
apply for Section 8 housing,” said NYCHA Chairman Tino Hernandez. “For the first
time in more than a decade we will be able to offer vouchers to people from the
general community, mainly due to Mayor Bloomberg’s leadership on the issue of
affordable housing and the support of Congress.”
In December 1994, NYCHA closed its Section 8 waiting list except for
emergency applicants because of a drop in federal funding for Section 8
vouchers. The 22,000 new vouchers - 12,000 this year and 10,000 next year - are
available because of changes made at the local and Federal level. In Washington,
Federal funding for Section 8 housing was increased by nearly $100 million.
Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Congressional delegation,
including Congressman Charles Rangel and Senator Charles Schumer, have worked to
repeatedly ward off cuts and win increases in the program’s budget.
The availability of these housing vouchers is also a result of reforms to the
City’s homelessness policies. For much of the past decade, available Section 8
vouchers were distributed to families leaving homeless shelters to secure
permanent housing. In 2004, the Bloomberg Administration created Housing
Stability Plus, the most generous local rental assistance program in the nation,
as a new resource for those leaving shelter. Since that time, Housing Stability
Plus has helped nearly 10,000 families leave shelter. Vouchers have been and
will continue to be made available on a priority bases to domestic violence
survivors, families reunifying from foster care, and intimidated witnesses.
Further, 200 vouchers have been allocated for individuals who are chronically
homeless and are not part of the shelter system.
NYCHA’s Section 8 program is the largest in the United States. NYCHA
administers over 83,000 Section 8 vouchers serving over 270,000 New Yorkers.
Over 30,000 private landlords accept the vouchers. Income limits for Section 8
are set by the Federal government and vary depending on the number of people in
the household. For instance, an individual who earns less than $24,800 a year or
a family of four making less than $35,000 could qualify for Section 8
assistance.
NYCHA is also currently undertaking a comprehensive effort to identify and
find people who signed up for Section 8 housing vouchers as long ago as 1993,
but who are no longer reachable at the address or telephone numbers given when
they joined the list. Any of these households identified and who remain eligible
will be given priority for these new vouchers. New Yorkers who believe they were
on this list should contact NYCHA’s Application Offices through 311.
A new Section 8 application form will be available to applicants at any of
NYCHA’s Borough Applications Offices. Applications will also be available at all
NYCHA Management Offices. For a complete list of addresses, applicants can visit
the NYCHA website at
www.nyc.gov/nycha or call 311. Section 8 applications from the general
public will be accepted for a three-month period beginning February 12, 2007.
Applications must be postmarked no later than May 14, 2007. Applications can be
sent to NYCHA immediately, but will not be officially accepted until February
12, 2007. NYCHA will not accept any applications delivered to their offices.
Completed applications must be mailed to:
NEW YORK CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY
Post Office Box 445
Church Street Station
New York, NY 10008-0445
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