Margert in the News
State Law Urged to Reduce
Home Foreclosures
The Full Story
Albany Times-Union
By Eric Anderson, Deputy Business Editor
May 24, 2007....Lenders would be required to make sure a borrower could
afford to repay a mortgage -- including taxes, insurance and fees -- under
legislation proposed Wednesday by a coalition of community and civic groups.
While that seems like Banking 101, New Yorkers for Responsible Lending says too
many brokers are ignoring the fundamentals or committing outright fraud. The
result: Borrowers are stuck with loans they can't afford.
"The Legislature must act now to stem the foreclosure crisis that's been
mounting in our state," said Sarah Ludwig, executive director of the New York
City-based Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, a coalition
member.
The legislation also would require that brokers act in the borrower's interest
and would prohibit such terms as balloon payments, where the balance of a
mortgage comes due all at once.
"We are seeing a range of abusive and fraudulent mortgage-lending practices,
from rampant broker fraud to lenders making unaffordable, high-cost mortgages
that virtually guarantee homeowners will lose their homes," said Meghan Faux,
co-director of the Foreclosure Prevention Project at South Brooklyn Legal
Services.
The Assembly will hold a series of hearings on the topic, with the first one
at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in Hearing Room B at the Legislative Office Building.
"We definitely want to look at the scope of the problem to see what it is we can
do," said Sisa Moyo, an Assembly spokeswoman. "We want to make sure that we have
something that's effective."
Peter Edman, director of the Senate Banking Committee, said the panel, chaired
by Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna, would review the testimony from the Assembly
hearings.
The coalition met with Farley's staff Wednesday afternoon and will offer
proposed legislation in the next day or two, Edman said.
The state law wouldn't cover nationally chartered banks, lending institutions
or their subsidiaries.
And the coalition's effort comes with just four weeks left in the current
legislative session, leaving little time for action this year.
Some think it's already too late for legislation. "The horse is already out of
the barn, and I don't think they get that," said Tracy Petersen, a counselor
with the nonprofit Affordable Housing Partnership in Albany.
Petersen counsels people who are facing foreclosure. Where she once saw four
people a month, she now sees as many as three a day.
Petersen also would like to see a foreclosure moratorium so banks could
review individual troubled loans and restructure those that could be salvaged.
"The banks can restructure the deals that make sense," she said. But, she added,
"I don't think everybody's home can be saved."
Petersen said it's often a challenge finding out just who holds the loan.
The coalition, meanwhile, said brokers and lenders often don't return phone
calls, claim that documents faxed to them are missing, or that applications have
been lost.
Officials at the New York Association of Mortgage Brokers could not be reached
for comment.
Margert Community Corporation is a member of New
Yorkers for Responsible Lending.
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NY1 Covers Margert's Home
Maintenance Class!
The Full Story
Queens
Home Improvement Course Teaches Homeowners How To Do-It-Themselves
View the Video
June 14,
2007
Home improvements can be daunting and expensive for homeowners, but as
NY1’s Ruschell Boone explains some New Yorkers are getting a lesson on how to do
it themselves without burning a hole in their wallets.
From tiling to plastering to minor electrical work, first-time home buyers
gathered at a home maintenance course in Far Rockaway are learning how to make
simple home repairs. It’s something many are hoping will save them big bucks.
“You can save for the kitchen $2,000, $3,000 easily or the bathroom easily,”
says homeowner Thang Tang.
“This is the thing that you want going into buying a home,” says homeowner Fred
Haynes. “You want to know how to fix things if something breaks down, you know,
how to improve your house.”
But in order to save they have to learn how to do the job right.
The program, which is open to low- and moderate-income homeowners, is run by the
Housing Partnership Development Corp., a developer of affordable housing, and
Margert Community Corporation, a community-based nonprofit housing agency.
“We have a lot of new home buyers who are purchasing these new units and they
really need to know how to do simple repairs, so they don't have to go out and
look for contractors that will charge exorbitant fees and it helps them to
preserve their unit and save on their housing costs,” says Stephanie Lawes of
Margert Community Corporation.
After a few weeks of learning some of the students say the classes are already
paying off.
Aquila Haynes says a contractor offered to rewire her house after an electrical
wire came loose, but she knew better once she got to the class.
“When I came to this course and asked the instructor about it, he gave me the
instructions and told me what to do. He said, you know, unscrew the face plate,
take it out, here's the receptacle, which only costs 37 cents and he told me how
to change it,” says Haynes.
The classes are being taught in Far Rockaway but they are open to everyone in
the city. Call (718) 471-3724 for more information.
– Ruschell Boone
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Rev. Brendan Downing,
Chairman of the Board, Returns to God at Age 54
The Full Story
Bishop
Nicholas DiMarzio regrets to inform you of the death of the REVEREND BRENDAN W.
DOWNING, Pastor of the Church of Saint Gertrude, Far Rockaway, New York, on
Monday, July 9, 2007, at NYU Medical Center. He was born on July 10, 1952, and
ordained to the priesthood on April 28, 1979.
Father Downing served the parishes of Saint Mary Star of the Sea (Far Rockaway),
Nativity-Saint Peter Claver (Brooklyn), Saint Catharine of Alexandria (Brooklyn)
and Visitation (Brooklyn). After serving more than five years in the Mission
Diocese of Comayagua, Honduras, Father Downing returned to the Diocese of
Brooklyn, and was appointed Pastor of the Church of Saint Gertrude, Far
Rockaway, New York.
WAKE: Church of Saint Gertrude
336 Beach 38th Street
Far Rockaway, New York 11691
Tel. No. 718-327-5673
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Thursday, July 12, 2007
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
VIGIL MASS: Church of Saint Mary Star of the Sea
1920 New Haven Avenue
Far Rockaway, New York
Tel. No. 718-327-1133
Thursday, July 12, 2007
7:30 PM
FUNERAL MASS: Church of Saint Mary Star of the Sea
1920 New Haven Avenue
Far Rockaway, New York
Tel. No. 718-327-1133
Friday, July 13, 2007
10:30 AM
BURIAL: Gate of Heaven Cemetery
Valhalla, New York
Please pray for the repose of his soul and for the consolation of his family and
friends. May he rest in the peace of Christ, the Risen Lord.
Rev. James K. Cunningham
Pastor, Saint Mary Star of the Sea, Far Rockaway
Vice Chairman of the Board, Margert Community Corporation
View Corporate
Notification
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Flashback: Fr. Brendan
Celebrates 25 Years as a Priest
The Full Story
 August
31, 2004
Dear Friends of St. Gertrude’s,
For the past 93 years, the parish of St. Gertrude the Great, in Edgemere, has
been providing for the spiritual and social service needs of local residents.
Originally founded as a mission of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Far Rockaway in
1911, the parish quickly established its own identity, from which emerged a
unique missionary spirit with a tradition deeply rooted in community service.
This dedication to community service has taken many forms over the years.
Some may recall playing basketball in the gym, or attending summer camp, in
years gone by. More recently, St. Gertrude’s has taken the lead in ministering
to our more vulnerable neighbors, by establishing a non-sectarian,
community-based nonprofit housing agency, Margert Community Corporation (along
with St. Mary’s), and hosting the Rockaway Senior Center.
This missionary spirit and tradition of St. Gertrude’s was dramatically
reinvigorated by the man who was to become the spiritual father some thirteen
years ago: Rev. Brendan W. Downing. Ordained April 28, 1979, by Bishop Mugavero
at our neighbor St. Mary’s, Fr. Brendan is a native of Flushing, Queens where he
attended St. Ann’s School, Cathedral Prep, Elmhurst, Cathedral College,
Douglaston, and the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington. Following
ordination, he served four years as assistant in two Brooklyn parishes before
being released from diocesan duty to serve in the missions in Honduras, where he
remained for six years. During the years, he has also done Spanish studies in
Bolivia and Guatemala.
Returning to Brooklyn in 1990, Fr. Brendan served for a year at Visitation
in Red Hook, Brooklyn until assigned as pastor of St. Gertrude’s in 1991.
Since 1991, on his way to becoming the longest serving pastor in parish history,
Fr. Brendan has calmly guided both parish and agency through some very turbulent
and uncertain times. Having served his deaconate at St. Mary’s in 1977, he
became well versed in the traditions and culture of the Rockaways, and was
determined to see some measure of our former glory restored. Under his
leadership we have seen major improvements to the physical plant of the parish
campus, including the construction of our new parish & community center, the Fr.
Tessier Learning Center (TLC). Both staff and program development at Margert
have flourished, providing an unprecedented level of comprehensive housing
services to the entire community.
April 28, 2004 marked a major milestone in the career of this remarkable
priest and friend. He quietly celebrated 25 years of service to his God, Church
and community.
With great pleasure we invite you to join in us celebrating both the 93rd
Anniversary of St. Gertrude the Great parish and Fr. Brendan’s 25th Anniversary
as a priest. The theme of our 29th Annual Dinner Dance will be to celebrate
the many lives that have been touched by both St. Gertrude’s and Fr. Brendan
Downing. We know that the lives of most of you who read this letter have been
enriched in one way or another through your association with the parish…we
welcome you to come celebrate yourselves and your families, and the presence of
God’s grace in all our lives!
On behalf of Fr. Brendan and the St. Gertrude’s parish family, we thank you
for your support and wish the blessings of Almighty God on you and your family.
Sincerely,
St. Gertrude’s 2004
Dinner Dance Committee
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