Albany, NY – December 12, 2008 – (RealEstateRama) – Commissioner VanAmerongen joined Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and members of the NYC Council to discuss State and City efforts to help families at risk of foreclosure.
DHCR has become a national leader in addressing the foreclosure crisis. The agency’s Subprime Foreclosure Prevention Program has awarded more than $18 million to not-for-profit agencies around the state to provide outreach, education, counseling and legal services. More than $10 million of those awards have gone to agencies in the five boroughs of NYC, which have been particularly hard hit by the foreclosure epidemic.
Officials also announced that the Center for NYC Neighborhoods (CNYCN) headed by executive director Michael Hickey, would be establishing a dedicated call center that will handle foreclosure-related calls and connect threatened homeowners with not-for-profit service providers. A $645,000 grant from DHCR is a major source of funding for the call center.
The new call center will not only direct homeowners to the appropriate service provider, but will also track each case and follow up on what services were provided and the status of those who need assistance. Operators of the new call center will also proactively reach out to New Yorkers that may be particularly at risk of foreclosure to let them know what services are available to them. The call center will be operational by the end of January 2009.
Commissioner VanAmerongen said during the event, “Fortunately for all New Yorkers, Governor Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg and the members of the State Legislature and City Council understand that the foreclosure crisis threatens to devastate many communities in our city, and indeed in every corner of the State. We at DHCR have been working closely with the City and with agencies like the Center for NYC Neighborhoods to address the crisis and help New Yorkers to keep their homes.”
Shaun Donovan, commissioner of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, said, “We are extremely grateful to Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn for their leadership on this important issue and to Governor Patterson and DHCR Commissioner VanAmerongen for the support that the State has provided for mortgage foreclosure prevention in New York City. The many families who have been helped so far through the work of the center and its service partners can attest to the importance of such ground-breaking partnerships among government, non-profits, banks and philanthropic institutions. Preventing mortgage foreclosure is too important a task to leave up to just one player.”
There has been a significant increase in foreclosure filings in NYC, particularly in neighborhoods such as Jamaica, Baychester, East New York and the North Shore of Staten Island. New York City saw nearly 15,000 lis pendens filings-legal notice of an intent to initiate foreclosure proceedings-in 2007, up from 7,000 in 2005. In 2008, the City has experienced a further 33 percent increase, with filings projected to hit 20,000 by the end of the year.
