Margert in the News
New National Housing
Trust Fund to Help Low-income Americans
The Full Story
By Mark Pattison
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS)....Wrapped inside the foreclosure relief bill passed by
Congress to help hard-pressed homeowners was legislation to help similarly
hard-pressed renters.
The creation of a national Housing Trust Fund was included in the Housing and
Economic Recovery Act of 2008, signed July 30 by President George W. Bush.
The amount to be set aside for the fund this year -- $300 million -- is modest
compared to the billions at stake in the foreclosure relief provisions of the
law, but it was seen as welcome relief by housing advocates.
"The (U.S.) bishops' conference has worked for years to enact a national Housing
Trust Fund because affordable housing is vitally important to the stability and
sustainability of families and communities throughout the country," said an Aug.
1 statement by Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., chairman of
the bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.
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Deregulation Threatens
Affordable Housing in New York City
The Full Story
Fellow New Yorkers,
Affordable housing for millions of New Yorkers is in the balance: Runaway
deregulation of rent-stabilized apartments, Mitchell-Lama and Section 8
developments going market-rate, a Rent Guidelines Board which passes crushing
rent increases year after year, and a city that still does not have home rule
over its own rent laws.
In order to strengthen our rent laws to protect tenants, a coalition of tenant
organizations, unions, immigrant advocates, and other concerned allies formed
the Real Rent Reform (R3) Campaign last year.
The R3 Campaign advocates a strong four-bill agenda which would end vacancy
decontrol, repeal the Urstadt Law that prevents the city and nearby counties
home rule over their rent laws, make any buildings that opt out of Section 8 or
Mitchell-Lama programs rent-stabilized, and reform the Rent Guidelines Board to
make it accountable to tenants. For years the tenant agenda has been stalled at
the state level due to Republican control of the State Senate. We are living in
a historic moment, where a potential Democratic majority in the State Senate
could allow us to get moving on these bills - as long as we do the hard job of
keeping those Democrats accountable to the people of New York, not to landlord
dollars.
In particular, the rent increases imposed on tenants in June by a
landlord-friendly Rent Guidelines Board are symptomatic of a system in desperate
need of repair. Not only are the increases the highest in years, but the board
also imposed extra penalties on low-rent tenants living in their apartments for
6 years or longer. This is nothing but an arbitrary longevity tax for the poor
and working class.
October 1st is the day that the increases go into effect. We are calling for a
citywide protest of the RGB rent increase, and to promote the legislative reform
of the rent system, at the State Office Building in Harlem, which is one of the
many neighborhoods threatened by the loss of affordability. With this protest,
we will send a message to Albany legislators that we need change now.
The R3 coalition requests that your organization endorse the Real Rent Reform
Campaign and commit to turn out your members to the Wednesday, October 1st rally
at the Harlem State Office Building on 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Boulevard at 5:30 pm. Without your participation in this effort we will not be
able to turn the tide. Grassroots involvement is crucial. We have to pick up
momentum and assure victories in the November elections and beyond. For more
information, or to endorse the campaign, please e-mail us at
join@realrentreform.org or call
212-979-6238, ext. 204. We hope to see your membership rally to keep New York
livable.
Thank you,
Joe Catron
Metropolitan Council on Housing
Aliza Levine
Housing Conservation Coordinators
Andrés Mares Muro
Tenants & Neighbors
View The R3 Campaign four-bill agenda
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New State Subprime Lending
Reform Law Now in Effect
The Full Story
On Labor Day many provisions in the
state's new subprime lending reform law kicked in, but some protections
apply to homeowners in general.
In lenders' letters notifying nonsubprime borrowers that foreclosure
proceedings will be started, lenders must now advise homeowners to consult
an attorney or to seek legal aid. The notice must also say that nonprofits
and government agencies are available to discuss options and negotiate with
lenders. It must say that information is available from the State Banking
Department. In addition, the letter must warn against foreclosure prevention
scams.
In comparison, subprime borrowers must get preforeclosure notices at least
90 days before the lenders begin to take action. The letters must tell them
to consider going to housing counseling and list at least five nonprofit
counselors in the borrowers' region. Those counselors must be on the list of
nonprofits approved by the federal Department of Housing and Urban
Development or the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal.
The law also attempts to deter foreclosure prevention scams.
Distressed-property consultants must have written contracts before
performing any services for the homeowners and cannot charge or accept fees
before services are completed. Also, such consultants cannot accept power of
attorney from homeowners, except in limited circumstances. Homeowners have
the right to cancel the consulting contracts within five business days of
both parties' agreeing to the contract.
Several restrictions also have been placed on subprime loans. Lenders will
no longer be able to charge prepayment penalties and offer teaser rates of
less than six months. "Loan flipping" -- in which loans are refinanced
without any tangible benefit to the borrower -- will be illegal.
Also, lenders will have to put taxes and insurance in escrow.
By Ellen Yan |
newsday.com
- 8:06 AM EDT, September 4, 2008
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NYS Consumers Hurt By Energy Service Companies
The Full Story
The Public Utility Law Project of New York (PULP)
Friday, September 05, 2008
Many ESCOs drum up unsuspecting customers for their utility service through
mass mailings, high pressure telemarketing, door-to-door salespeople, and web
sites. Now, the hard sell has been pushed up a notch.
An article in Monday’s New York Times (September 1st) regarding multi-level
marketing practices engaged in by ESCOs reads like a wake-up call for the NYS
Public Service Commission to take action (An Alternative to Con Ed Revs Up Its Sales
Force). Ken Belson’s story described a recent meeting at a hotel in
Yonkers where a “get-rich-quick” marketing scheme was discussed in great detail.
But, instead of the object of the scheme being some tangible widget being sold
to unwitting friends, family, and neighbors, this time the “product” is home
energy. That’s right, buying and selling electricity and natural gas to power
and heat your home has become the latest Ponzi scam to hit New Yorkers.
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