WASHINGTON – June 24, 2016 – (RealEstateRama) — Upon the completion of the 2016 Legislative Session, Empire Justice Center was excited to see significant strides in addressing wage theft, and two huge victories that will impact the ongoing effects of the forclosure crisis on homeowners and communities. At the same time, the organization also expressed incredible disappointment that, for the third year in a row, essential protections for crime and domestic violence victims were not enacted by the New York State Senate.
The highlight of Empire Justice Center’s list of accomplished priorities was a component of the “big ugly” omnibus legislation passed by the by both houses of the Legislature and negotiated with Governor Cuomo. The bill included provisions that will not only give enhanced protections to homeowners during the foreclosure process, but will also address the problem of “zombie” foreclosures by ensuring that banks maintain properties so they do not fall into disrepair, and a vacant property registry, along with several other critical components.
“We had high hopes for our legislative priorities this year,” said Kristin Brown, Vice President for Policy and Government Relations at Empire Justice Center. “We saw major achievements in the consumer protection realm, with two new laws passed that will keep New York State in the lead among states in addressing the foreclosure crisis. We also saw the New York State Assembly pass, for the first time, legislation that would provide tools to ensure that victims of wage theft are able to collect the money owed after a they get a judgement, and, for the third time in a row, protections for crime and domestic violence victims that would ensure that they will not face eviction if they call 911 for help. Unfortunately, despite bi-partisan support, neither of these measures made it to a vote in the Senate.”
FORECLOSURE PREVENTION:
As noted, in a victory that will have a tangible impact on Long Island and upstate communities still struggling to recover from neighborhood blight caused by the recession and the foreclosure crisis, both houses of the legislature passed two pieces of legislation.
The first bill [A.10741 (Farrell)/S.8159 (Flanagan)], negotiated by the Legislature with the Governor until the very end of the legislative session, makes significant improvements to mandatory settlement conferences and notices provisions – both key components of the foreclosure process. It creates a fair process for expediting foreclosures of vacant and abandoned properties, and will require that banks maintain those properties early on so they do not fall into disrepair, creating blight and making it difficult to get properties back in the hands of homeowners. Finally, it will create a new homeowner bill of rights.
“I’m so proud to have been involved in bringing this new law to fruition,” said Kirsten Keefe, Senior Attorney at Empire Justice. “It brings together multiple strands that together will help homeowners, neighborhoods and municipalities, and New York State at large, move from crisis into recovery. The settlement conference and notice improvements alone will have an immense impact.”
The other bill [A. 10730 (Weinstein)/S.8141 (Savino)], will create a Community Restoration Fund. The fund will allow SONYMA to purchase distressed mortgage notes from the federal government so that they can work with homeowners, municipalities, not for profits and land banks to keep homeowners in their homes and rehabilitate or demolish properties where that is not possible.
“This is a ground breaking program that will get vacant and abandoned properties all over the state back on the market and, wherever possible, keep homeowners in their homes. With sufficient funding, the Community Restoration Fund can be a game changer for communities that continue to struggle with neighborhood blight and the attendant consequences. We applaud the Legislature and the Governor for taking this tremendous step,” said Keefe.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION
All across New York State, local nuisance ordinances are threatening victims of domestic violence and other crime victims with eviction – simply for calling the police for help. These laws are passed to deal with problems like loud parties in college neighborhoods, people squatting in vacant or abandoned homes, or drug sales. But because these ordinances apply to properties instead of perpetrators, they too often sweep up victims, despite their good intentions.
This bill [A.1322 (Lavine)/S.4955 (Robach)] would ensure that local nuisance ordinances can stay in place, but would not infringe on the right of all New Yorkers to call law enforcement for help when needed. This bill not only has vast bipartisan support in the Senate, but has been passed unanimously by the Assembly for three years in a row.
“The frustration we feel is palpable. In a way, this bill is the unfinished business of the landmark anti-discrimination law which the Legislature passed last year that protects domestic violence victims from discrimination in housing,” said Amy Schwartz, Senior Staff Attorney with Empire Justice. “Without this bill, not only are victims at risk, but so are landlords, who face litigation if they comply with local ordinances. A growing number of states are passing laws similar to the one pending in New York, because, in the end, it’s very simple – no one threatened with a crime should be afraid to call 911.”
WAGE JUSTICE
Despite efforts to combat rampant wage theft, bad faith employers are able to escape accountability for failing to pay their workers lawful wages. Even when workers successfully pursue unpaid or stolen wages in court, these bad faith employers are able to transfer money from their bank accounts, hide property and assets in the names of family members, close down their businesses only to open them again under new names, or even leave the country entirely, bringing their property and assets along with them. This means that even when workers win a judgement for stolen wages, it is often impossible for them to collect what they are owed.
Securing Wages Earned Against Theft, or SWEAT [A.5501 (Rosenthal)/S.2232 (Peralta)], is a bill that would create much needed tools to strengthen workers’ ability to collect unpaid wages while improving enforcement mechanisms for wage and hour laws.
“We are very pleased that SWEAT has been passed by the Assembly for the first time this year,” said Elizabeth Koo, Hanna S. Cohn Equal Justice Fellow. “Approximately $125 million in court judgements and Department of Labor decisions have not been collected in New York State, and that’s only a fraction of the theft that occurs in countless industries across the state. There is a strong coalition of over 60 organizations working on this issue, and workers and advocates will certainly be coming back next year to build on our success in the Assembly and make sure this important bill is moved through the Senate.”
For more information about our 2016 State Legislative Priorities, please visit our website: www.empirejustice.org.
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Empire Justice Center is a statewide, multi-issue, multi-strategy, public interest law firm focused on changing the “systems” within which poor and low-income families live. Empire Justice protects and strengthens the legal rights of people in New York State who are poor, disabled or disenfranchised through: systems change advocacy, training and support to other advocates and organizations, and high quality direct civil legal representation. Empire Justice has four offices in Albany, Rochester, Yonkers, White Plains and Central Islip on Long Island.
Contact: Kristin Brown Lilley, (518) 462-6831
