Albany, NY – January 2, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) – Governor David A. Paterson today announced $2.3 million in grants as part of New York’s ongoing efforts to address the subprime mortgage crisis in every county of the State. In total, 53 awards totaling $21.2 million were awarded by the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) in 2008 under the New York State Subprime Foreclosure Prevention Services Program, and $2 million has been awarded by the New York State Banking Department. The grants announced today will be provided to non-profit agencies for homeownership assistance and foreclosure prevention counseling, advocacy and legal services.
Governor Paterson has continuously demonstrated his commitment to addressing the mortgage foreclosure crisis. In addition to grants through DHCR and the NYS Banking Department, the governor signed an historic subprime lending reform bill into law in 2008 that assists homeowners in the greatest danger of losing their homes and establishes protections to help prevent foreclosures in the future.
“By helping individual homeowners gain the information and skills they need to keep their homes, we are addressing this crisis at its core in every part of New York State,” said Governor Paterson. “Foreclosures are disastrous for families, but they are also bad for communities and our entire economy. The more we can do to help prevent unnecessary foreclosures, the better off we will be as a State and a country.”
DHCR Commissioner Deborah VanAmerongen said: “Governor Paterson’s dedication to helping people keep their homes is making a difference in New York. These grants are allowing not-for-profit partners across the State to educate and counsel families at risk of foreclosure, many of whom were the victims of predatory lending methods.”
DHCR awarded $2.3 million from the State’s $25 million Subprime Foreclosure Prevention Program to the following eight non-profit organizations around the State to help homeowners at risk of foreclosure:
Capital Region
$68,000 to United Tenants of Albany to assist homeowners in Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, and Schenectady Counties
Nassau County
$425,000 to the Nassau Suffolk Partnership Housing Development Fund Company to assist homeowners in Nassau County
New York City
-$700,000 to LIFE, Inc. to assist homeowners in parts of Queens and Nassau County
-$417,000 to Queens Legal Services to assist homeowners in Queens
-$210,000 to Nos Quedamos to assist homeowners in the Bronx
Rochester Area
-$170,000 to the Marketview Heights Association to assist homeowners in Parts of Monroe County, including Rochester, Irondequoit, Greece, Gates, Henrietta, and Brighton
Western New York
-$205,000 to Niagara Falls NHS to assist homeowners in Niagara County
-$85,000 to Community Action of Wyoming County to assist homeowners in Genesee and Wyoming Counties
For more information on the program and to access a list of organizations around the State that have received public funding to provide foreclosure prevention services, go to www.nysdhcr.gov.
