Minneapolis, MN – Community members marched through downtown here, Aug. 19, demanding JPMorgan Chase Bank negotiate with the Ceballos and Kelly families, both of whom face imminent eviction after foreclosure.

Supporters marched through two downtown skyscrapers; marching through Chase Bank lawyers' offices, releasing a balloon banner inside a JPMorgan Chase office and blocking streets surrounding Chase Bank for an hour with a 20-foot tripod suspending a supporter.

“Chase Bank illegally dual tracked us and sent 30 sheriffs to evict our family's home,” said Jonathan Ceballos. “But nearly a month later, we're still there and we're not going anywhere. All we're asking for is a fair negotiation.”

After illegally dual tracking the Ceballos family – moving forward with eviction even as they said they were negotiating – Chase Bank sent 30 sheriffs to evict them on July 24, arresting two people for nonviolent resistance. Supporters quickly removed the boards and three weeks later, the family still holds the home. But Chase refuses to negotiate with Ceballos or his neighbor Jaymie Kelly.

“I've lived in my home 30 years and on this block all my life,” said Jaymie Kelly. “I've already paid $425,000 for this house – five times what I bought it for. I'm not asking for a bailout. I'm asking for principal reduction to market value of $81,000 so I can pay for it again.”

#Minneapolis #MinneapolisMN #Foreclosures #HousingStruggles #Ceballos #JPMorgan #ChaseBanks #Kelly #OccupyHousing

Irvington, NJ – A march and rally against foreclosures was held here on July 21. It was sponsored by the Coalition to Save Our Homes and the People’s Organization for Progress (POP). The event tied the suffering of homeowners directly to the predation of Wall Street. The demands were: end robo-signing; reduce mortgage principals to current value; prosecute banksters; make banks obey the rule of law.

Speakers denounced the banks for causing the mortgage crisis. Sharon Hand of POP and Carol Gay of the Solidarity Singers condemned lenders for issuing mortgages that they knew homeowners could not repay. They said the banks’ actions were violations of human rights. The affected homeowners must take action to prevent foreclosure, including demands on public officials to meet their responsibilities to citizens.

Another speaker said all issues of people’s economic justice trace directly to Wall Street. The main way the financial sector makes money now is by fraud, theft, embezzlement and gambling. JPMorgan Chase dropped $7 billion at the tables of the Wall Street big casino and nearly triggered another 2008-style financial collapse. Meanwhile young people in the cities are killing each other in the streets because they don’t have jobs and are desperate. They need to stop fighting each other and fight their real enemies.

Susan Newton of POP, who has worked as a mortgage underwriter, gave practical advice. She said if you need credit, always talk to several lenders. Remember the banks are not interested in your needs; instead they are looking out for ways to make money from you.

The Solidarity Singers performed several songs during the program, including Tom Bias’s anthem, Foreclosure Song. Bias also related how the banks had worked him and his family over in their struggle to avoid foreclosure.

The Black Orchid Drummers performed at the end of the rally. The gathering headed off to march through Irvington’s business district. The town authorities had denied a permit to march in the street, first on one pretext, then on another. We marched on the sidewalks anyway and it worked to our advantage. Passersby raised fists, shook hands and called out in agreement, and took informational fliers. Some defied the permit denial and marched in the street.

The protest proceeded to the local branch of Wells Fargo to “pay a visit.” The marchers chanted “You can’t rob the bank, but the bank can rob you!” and “Banksters: Not too big to fail, not too big to jail!” The Black Orchid Drummers played throughout the march, pulling people out of shops and stores. The community was with us.

Marchers headed back down to Civic Square and heard from POP Chairmen Lawrence Hamm. He said that the way banks raised mortgage payments amounts to stealing. Monthly payments are increased by thousands of dollars per month and homeowners simply cannot pay that much. He emphasized that Black people lost more personal wealth in the mortgage collapse than at any time since the Civil War. Bankers never think about the suffering they cause because the problems never affect them that way. He congratulated all the participants for holding a great event, and said we will continue to build a powerful movement against foreclosure.

To conclude the day, it was said that we will continue the local struggle and the focus on distressed homeowners. The longer term strategy is to look closely into the millions of ‘missing’ mortgage promissory notes that give rise to the robo-signing abuses. There was massive financial wrongdoing by the banks in the issuance of mortgage based securities. When we know what happened to all those notes we will know will where the bodies are buried in the mortgage mess. Then we will be able to lay the struggle of the homeowner right at the doorstep of Wall Street.

#IrvingtonNJ #WallStreet #Foreclosures #HousingStruggles #PeoplesOrganizationForProgress #CoalitionToSaveOurHome

Minneapolis, MN – The Minneapolis City Attorney is ramping up repression to try to stop the months-long campaign to resist the foreclosure of Alejandra and David Cruz’s family home at 4044 Cedar Avenue South. In an ominous development, at least three of the dozens of people arrested in defending the home from foreclosure are now being retroactively charged with third degree riot, obstructing legal process, disorderly conduct and presence at an unlawful assembly, in addition to their original trespass charge. The third degree riot charge alone could mean a year in jail and $3000 fine.

The protest where these specific arrests took place was on May 30 during one of the Minneapolis Police Department’s several attempts to clear out occupiers and evict the Cruz family on behalf of PNC Bank, which owns the home mortgage. That massive police operation and arrests took place less than 24 hours after Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak had tried to appear sympathetic to the anti-foreclosure movement by saying, “the City is not in the foreclosure business.”

For several months, Occupy Homes MN has mobilized hundreds of people to occupy and defend the Cruz home while building pressure nationally on PNC Bank, demanding that they negotiate to allow the Cruz family to keep their home. The Minneapolis police repeatedly returned to the home to try to dislodge the occupiers and were repeatedly rebuffed through mass civil disobedience. After the police finally succeeded in ejecting the occupiers and locking down the home, there was a mass civil disobedience action on June 21, where 13 more people were arrested, including hip hop artist Brother Ali.

According to a statement from Occupy Homes MN, “These charges are a clear and disgraceful attempt to suppress the Occupy Homes movement and ‘make an example’ of anti-foreclosure organizers who were arrested while non-violently protesting an unjust eviction. City Attorney Susan Segal, appointed by Mayor RT Rybak, has also made it a point to aggressively prosecute other political defendants, including a group arrested while protesting US Bank’s foreclosure practices last fall … This attempt to silence and stifle anti-foreclosure organizing will not deter us from fighting for our homes, our families, our neighbors, and our futures.”

Donations for legal defense of the people arrested defending the Cruz home can be made here: https://www.wepay.com/occupyhomesmn More information on the fight to defend the Cruz home:

#MinneapolisMN #Foreclosures #HousingStruggles #OccupyWallStreet #InjusticeSystem #OccupyHomesMN

St. Paul, MN – Members the Welfare Rights Committee and the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout gathered at the State Capitol Building, April 16, demanding that legislators tax the rich and stop cutting programs that serve poor and working people. “We are here – the day before Tax Day – to demand that the politicians in this capitol stop balancing the budget on the backs of working and poor Minnesotans. We say it is time for politicians to tax the rich,” said Kristin Rafferty of the Welfare Rights Committee.

Protesters unfurled a giant banner with that message on the steps of the capitol and later, following a struggle with cops from the State Patrol, hung the banner in the capitol rotunda.

This legislative session Republican politicians ignored the tax bill – HF2669/SF2256, sponsored by Representative Frank Hornstein and Senator Jeff Hayden – that would raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy and introduced a host of measures that attack people on public assistance, immigrants and in trade unions. They refused to hear a bill that would have placed a moratorium on home foreclosures.

Speaking to protesters, Ebony Harris of the Welfare Rights Committee said, “The Welfare Rights Committee fought long and hard this year and we have been successful in stopping some of the worst cuts to welfare. We testified, we protested, we chanted in hearings. We were harassed and threatened with arrest, but we refused to be silent! And we stopped the three-year lifetime limit to welfare that Republicans tried so hard to push through.”

“With tax day upon us, we are sending a message that it is time to make the rich pay for the effects of the economic crisis that is being felt in so many of our communities” said Linden Gawboy of the Welfare Rights Committee. “We do not need cuts to social programs and we don’t need to use budget tricks to hide the budget crisis. We need a lot more taxes on the wealthy and their corporations.”

Steff Yorek, of the MN Coalition for a Peoples Bailout, told the crowd, “We demand that Minnesota’s wealthy pay more. We reject the notion that every time the legislature meets, the debate is about cutting programs that serve the people of this state. We want economic justice.”

#StPaulMN #WelfareRightsCommittee #TaxTheRich #Foreclosures #CoalitionForPeoplesBailout

Trenton, NJ – In March, the Coalition to Save Our Homes asked New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa for a meeting. Many of our members have been harmed by predatory lending. We want Chiesa to hear their complaints. His office can do many things to help them. He said no.

On April 11 we went to Trenton to protest his refusal and demand that our requests be met. We hear of “liberty and justice for all.” It would be good to have it. But there is no equal protection of the laws when predatory lenders get bailouts and the people they harmed can’t even get a hearing. We won’t accept that.

We started the protest with a rally in front of the New Jersey Statehouse, where the governor’s office is located. There were 45 participants. It was a big crowd because it did big things. We gave center stage to the voices of people who have been harmed by predatory lending.

They spoke for all of the millions of borrowers who were swindled. They paid far more than their houses were worth. Some have been foreclosed. Some have lost their jobs. Payment records have been lost, ownership records have been lost. Many mortgages are underwater. Many have lost jobs and income because the banks drove the economy into depression.

Home prices have reached a nationwide average of more than twice true market value. It was price fixing. Lenders lied to prospective borrowers about things in the fine print. They roped buyers into mortgages they knew would fail. They selectively abused African-American and Latino home buyers with higher fees than those paid by economically comparable white buyers, and extended them more subprime loans.

All of these things are illegal. Nothing effective has been done for the millions and millions of people who were harmed.

We want the attorney general to do something about it. We want predatory lenders to be prosecuted for price fixing. They must be compelled to lower mortgage principals to reflect the true market value of the properties. There are many other things for which they could be prosecuted.

People came from all over New Jersey. They represented many organizations. Other concerns of people’s economic justice were addressed. One speaker talked about the impact of cuts in public services on low-income women and children. Another spoke about Irvington, which lost its hospital a couple of years ago and is now planned to get a medical waste disposal plant that the community does not want.

Then we marched through the streets with stops at branch offices of Wells Fargo and Bank of America. The Solidarity Singers gave us a song at each stop. Speakers got on the bullhorn to tell passersby what the banks had done to them. Too many people are passive at their mistreatment by the banks! Passersby showed their support. Drivers honked their horns. Then we marched to the Hughes Justice Complex, where the attorney general’s office is located. We chanted, “A.G. Chiesa, do your job!”

The attorney general’s office had been notified in writing that we were coming to give him a letter. The statement was read aloud to the assembly at the Justice Complex. At no time was there any obstruction of normal activity.

We were met by an officer of the State Police. He was courteous but he told us we could not enter the building, which is public. He said he would take our letter to the attorney general and deliver it, but we had to disperse. He said we could not be present as a group because we did not have a permit to be there!

We said we wanted to enter the building and turn our letter in to the reception desk of the attorney general’s office. A delegation of three went in. A second State Police officer told us at the sign-in desk that we would not be allowed to go to the office. Our attorney was with us. He told the officer that he had many times been to the attorney general’s office to do the same thing. All we wanted to do was deliver a letter to reception. The officer said we could not go to the office. We had to turn in our documents through him. We gave him the letter and a petition with well over a thousand signatures, but said it was a violation of free speech.

We went back outside. The day’s protest was over. The Solidarity Singers fell in, and started singing. People were singing along, hanging out, waiting for the bus. We had accomplished great things. Everybody was happy.

Then the police told us again we could not be there because, “You don’t have a permit.”

“To wait for the bus?!”

“You can’t hold signs.”

“But that’s silly.”

“If you don’t put away the signs and disperse I will have to call for more officers.”

We collected the signs. The problem was clear: the powerful officials who hold so much responsibility are afraid of us because we want to be protected by law from the banks. The bus arrived after a few minutes and we went home.

It had been a good day’s work. We want the attorney general to prosecute predatory lenders. We want equal protection of the laws. We want reinstatement of the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights. We will keep it up.

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ejw7jA3ZCEE

#TrentonNJ #Foreclosures #WellsFargo #HousingStruggles #AfricanLiberation #BankOfAmerica

Orange, NJ – Over 30 people turned out, March 30, to protest the scheduled eviction of Susie Johnson, 77, from the home in which she has lived for 30 years. Their strong stand drew media coverage to the case. The eviction was not carried out today because the protest exposed injustice. A postponement until May 15 is in effect.

The protest was called by the Coalition to Save Our Homes.

The postponement is a people’s victory, but the struggle continues. The banks and the courts think they can ignore the rights of an elderly low-income African-American woman.

Mrs. Johnson is represented by her daughter, Cynthia Johnson. Foreclosure was filed by Wells Fargo but the documents carry the names of several banks. JP Morgan Chase also wants an account number on the case. At this point it is not even clear what bank the Johnson family must deal with. The banks must be forced to clean their act up.

The case has a long, messy history of abuses but the people’s forces don’t need a lot of details to act. We know banks have abused tens of millions of borrowers and gotten bailed out for trillions of dollars when their crazy, crooked schemes failed. We know it doesn’t matter what the banks do, prosecutors will look the other way. We have had it. This is a question of human rights. Our line is, “Don’t evict grandma, don’t evict Susie Johnson,” and that’s it.

The explosion in foreclosure cases started seven years ago but at no official level has anything effective been done for victims. The latest “settlement” with state Attorneys General and five big banks is typical. The banks are trying to buy immunity from prosecution for their violations in exchange for expenses they would bear anyway being counted as a “settlement.”

It’s like they’re looking for a way to pay ten bucks to avoid a business loss of twelve bucks. It’s not justice. It’s a fake. It’s official collusion. The people are the losers. We won’t stand for it.

There are millions of Susie Johnsons who have had their human and economic rights violated by fraud and crimes by the banks. Her case shows the only way to get economic justice, or any other kind of justice for the 99%, is through the power of the people.

People showed up at the March 30 protest for many reasons and from many organizations. There were victims of predatory lending who see the injustice to themselves in terms of a broad social issue. Women’s equality, human and civil rights organizations, organized labor, the Occupy movement, veteran activists and those newly come to struggle – all were represented.

Lawrence Hamm of the People’s Organization for Progress called for a moratorium by the sheriff’s office on foreclosure evictions, as in Cook County, Illinois. He blamed the foreclosure epidemic exclusively on the banks and their predatory lending practices. Maretta Short of NOW-NJ told about the devastating impact on low-income women and children of trillions of dollars in human services budget cuts. Another person said college students now bear over a trillion dollars of educational debt. A student told of facing 179 months of payments for her education.

Harry Perryman from nearby Irvington told how Irvington General Hospital was closed a few years ago. Now there is a plan to build a medical waste disposal plant there. “They close our hospital but give us the trash,” he said. There is strong community opposition to the proposed plant.

Another speaker pointed out that all of these abuses stem from the same cause. Investment capital in the United States amounts to many, many trillions of dollars. There is so much capital that its ravenous appetite for profit swallows up the money for every human need.

When the deputies from the sheriff’s office appeared they did not insist on proceeding with the eviction. Instead they called their supervisor for instructions. He came and asked Cynthia Johnson procedural questions about the courts. The outcome was the postponement of any action until May 15.

The protesters cheered at the victory. Even the deputies seemed relieved. A Legal Services attorney who came to the protest agreed to help organize Susie Johnson’s case and assist with her defense. In the past she has not been able to afford to hire an attorney.

The day showed the power of the people is a real force, not just a nice slogan. We must remain vigilant. There is no justice without people’s struggle.

#OrangeNJ #PoorPeoplesMovements #Foreclosures #HousingStruggles #AfricanLiberation #CoalitionToSaveOurHomes #JPMorganChase

St. Paul, MN – It took several minutes for the people gathered outside on the front steps of the Minnesota State Capitol to filter through the doors and into the echoing rotunda, chanting, “Hey politicians, here’s the fix! Tax the rich! Tax the rich!” Nearly 200 protested here, Jan. 24, on the opening day of the Minnesota legislative session. Over two dozen Minnesota organizations endorsed the rally, under the slogans, “Make the rich pay for their crisis,” “Put a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions,” and “Stop the attacks on the 99%!”

The protest was organized the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout (MCPBO).

Deb Konechne spoke for the MCPBO, “This system that we live under, is a system where profit is the ultimate motive and a tiny percentage controls the wealth and power. It’s a system that was built on greed, aggression and outright thievery since its very beginning – from the stealing of land and resources to the stealing of people’s labor. Everything they have was made by us. Everything they own belongs to us all. We are in the biggest economic crisis since the great depression. We did not create it. Yet we are the ones who are being forced to pay for it!”

Darnella Wade, a member of the Welfare Rights Committee, a founding group of the MCPBO, said, “The Welfare Rights Committee is back here at the capitol, for the 20th year in a row. We will be fighting for the demands of the 99%. We are here to demand an end to the attacks on our families. We demand they pass legislation to stop foreclosures and to tax the rich!”

MCPBO is working on two bills this legislative session. One bill, SF1521/HF1886, puts a two-year moratorium on home foreclosures and on the eviction of tenants from foreclosed properties. The other bill, to be introduced Jan. 26, increases taxes on the richest in Minnesota.

Senator Scott Dibble and Representative Karen Clark, the authors of the bill to put a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions, addressed the rally. Senator Jeff Hayden, an author (along with Rep. Frank Hornstein) of the bill to tax the rich, roused the crowd as well.

Ramon Silva Hernandez spoke about the battle against his home foreclosure, “I worked hard to go back to school, to educate myself and I wanted to be a part of America by purchasing a home. I was given a predatory loan by Aurora. I tried for two years to modify my mortgage through President Obama’s program without any answer, and mailing the same package of requirements every month.” Silva Hernandez concluded, “I am here with hope of finding a solution to this situation. I am calling on politicians to put a moratorium on foreclosures.”

The “Occupy the Capitol Rally” ran well over its allotted time, as passionate representatives of many groups lined up to express outrage and determination to fight back against the wave of attacks on poor and working people.

After the speeches inside the rotunda, the crowd marched up the broad staircase to the second floor of the capitol and paraded outside the doors of the House and Senate chambers, chanting all the way.

Then, protesters surged into the hallway outside the Governor Mark Dayton’s office and packed his lobby until capitol security forced them out and barred the doors. Chants ranged from “Money for human needs, not for stadiums,” (Gov. Dayton advocates state funding for a Vikings football stadium) to “We are the 99%! We occupy, we represent!” After a standoff outside the doors of the governor’s office, people moved outdoors and pressed against a window to look in at Governor Dayton as he held a meeting in his office until, after a scuffle, state troopers forced the defiant crowd to the nearby steps, where the rally ended with vows to return. Besides the Minnesota Coalition for People’s Bailout and the Welfare Rights Committee, which organized the opening day protest, the rally was endorsed by ADAPT MN, Advocating Change Together (ACT), AFSCME Council 5, AFSCME Local 3800, Anti-War Committee, Communities United Against Police Brutality, General Assembly of OccupyMpls, Marriage Equality Minnesota, Minnesotans for a Fair Economy, MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, MN Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC), MN Nurses Association (MNA), MN Tenants Union, MN Peace Action Coalition, Occupy Homes, Occupy the Hood, Occupy Saint Paul Tactical Working Group, Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign, Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation, Students Association for the Advancement of Children as People (SAACP), Students for Democratic Society (SDS), TakeAction Minnesota, Twin Cities Peace Campaign, United Food And Commercial Worker Union Local 1189, Universal Health Care Action Network of MN and Women Against Military Madness (WAMM).

For more info, go to http://mnbailout.wordpress.com

#StPaulMN #Foreclosures #HousingStruggles #housingCrisis #Evictions #MinnesotaCoalitionForAPeoplesBailoutMCPBO

Minneapolis, MN – About 50 people rallied here at People’s Plaza, the encampment of Occupy MN, and proceeded to south Minneapolis where they occupied a foreclosed home, November 19. In the early evening Minneapolis police, arrested two participants, and attempted to board up the home. Activists surrounded the home, police left, and occupiers re-entered the home. The occupation is ongoing.

This is the second foreclosed home to be occupied in recent weeks. On Nov. 8, an occupation began at the home of Monique White. White, who lives at 3310 N 6th St, is facing imminent eviction from her foreclosed home.

#MinneapolisMN #Foreclosures #HousingStruggles #OccupyWallStreet #OccupyMinneapolis

The occupation is organized and endorsed by members of SEIU and other sectors, including churches, community organizations and activists at OccupyMN.

Monique White has lived in her home and worked in the community for the last eight years. Helping her buy her home is the last thing her father did before he died. One year ago she was laid off from her job at a group home because it was de-funded by the state due to the budget crisis. Although she has a part time job, she fell behind in her house payments to US Bank Corp. They have been unwilling to work with her. According to the greedy bank’s last financial report, they made $1.2 billion. At the same time, 393 homes in Hennepin County went into foreclosure.

Mel Reeves reminded the crowd, “During the time I have been speaking, 7 more families in the U.S. went into foreclosure.

Nick Espinosa, an organizer of the occupation, said, “We are not leaving until they negotiate.”

Nick Muhamud, from the North Side said, “These are the moments the 1% dread – look around you – when the people of all races and ages come together to fight back.”

A small contingent will be on alert at the house 24/7 and when and if the sheriff comes an emergency call will go to come to White’s home to protect it.

The event ended with a spirited march through the neighborhood.

#MinneapolisMN #Foreclosures #HousingStruggles #OccupyWallStreet #OccupyMN

Irvington, NJ – In spite of a winter storm, the Coalition to Save Our Homes marched and rallied here, Oct. 29, against home foreclosures. The group maintains the wave of foreclosures is due to overpricing of the home market by mortgage lenders. They want mortgage principals reduced to amounts that homeowners can pay.

“The citizens didn’t cause the foreclosure crisis, the banks did,” said Sharon Hands of the People’s Organization for Progress. “Greed and corruption did it. People living in their homes didn’t say, ‘Oh, I want to live in a box’ or ‘I want to be homeless.’” She said that the Irvington administration should do more to keep residents in their homes. Members of the Newark Teachers’ Association and Residents for a Better Community of Irvington also participated.

The Coalition is gathering signatures on a petition to New Jersey Attorney General Paula Dow demanding that she take action against lenders for overpricing the market. They want the penalty to be reduction of principal to a true market value.

Irvington police escorted the marchers through heavy snow and traffic on Clinton Avenue. The group also chanted demands for better health care and jobs for all. In spite of difficult driving conditions drivers waved and honked their horns to show approval.

Kathleen Witcher of the Irvington NAACP spoke at a closing rally. She cited big increases in property taxes as an additional burden on homeowners and said action must be taken to keep Irvington from turning into a ghost town. The event ended with the call on the banks to “give the money back” that they had overpriced.

#IrvingtonNJ #Foreclosures #HousingStruggles #CoalitionToSaveOurHomes

The protest is being organized by the Coalition to Save Our Homes, which includes People’s Organization for Progress; NAACP, Irvington Branch; Newark Teachers’ Association (NJEA); and Residents for a Better Community of Irvington.

According to the Coalition to Save Our Homes (C2SOH), “the financial system created the mortgage mess and it has to take the weight. The mortgage market was rigged and that happens to be illegal. If a buyer was misled into paying $300,000 for a house that was worth only $180,000, the mortgage must be reduced by $120,000. Sorry, bank, you just got no right to that dough. They have to give the difference back. We are heartily sure Adam Smith would agree. We want NJ Attorney General Paula Dow to agree also and take action to compel a fair market write down of mortgage principals.”

New Jersey is one of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis in the country. Irvington is as hard hit as any municipality in the state.

The collapse of the housing bubble began in 2005. First to go was the subprime mortgage market. It led up to the great financial crisis of 2008.

After that home prices dropped drastically. Now more than 10 million mortgages are much higher than current prices, i.e., ‘underwater.’ That’s because the houses were never really worth what they were sold for.

There is also another side of predatory lending: banks abusively concentrated subprime mortgages on minorities. After all, they have always redlined against lending in African American and Latino neighborhoods.

Irvington is dead center on all counts. It is a 95% black African American/Haitian/Latino community. Two years ago 9% of all its homes had been foreclosed since 2005. That is more than four times the rate in mostly white census tracts.

Banks got bailed out because they are too politically connected to fail. They didn’t get all that money because anybody loves them and it didn’t lead to recovery. By the same token home buyers must gain economic justice by their own efforts, i.e., by people power. There will be no recovery until home buyers gain economic justice.

#IrvingtonNJ #Foreclosures #HousingStruggles #CoalitionToSaveOurHomesC2SOH

Trenton, NJ – People gathered here to rally and hold a press conference, March 29, on the need for uncompensated write-down of overpriced mortgages contracted during the housing bubble, the period after 1997. The event marked a court hearing aimed at elimination of ‘robo-signing,’ foreclosures undertaken by banks that cannot prove ownership of the mortgage.

Participating organizations included the People's Organization for Progress (POP), the Irvington Branch of the NAACP, the Newark Teachers' Association, New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA) and the Fair Share Housing Center.

Robo-signing is a terrible abuse. Rally participants all said it must be ended. But the end of robo-signing will prevent no one from being foreclosed. In fact the stated aim of the court hearing was to make the foreclosure process in New Jersey more efficient.

In the hearing a court-appointed attorney presented an agreement he had worked out with six of the largest mortgage lenders. The essential point is the banks agreed to proceed only in foreclosures based on “personal knowledge and accurate business records.” Several homeowner advocates objected that the agreement was vague or that it was procedurally inadequate to protect homeowners. Judge Mary C. Jacobson found in favor of the agreement. Whether or not it eliminates robo-signing will have to be seen from experience.

The people's forces said at their press conference that what really has to happen is enforced write-down of overpriced mortgages to the level of true market value at the time they were contracted. A POP statement was read by Debby Strong. It said the banks had harmed millions of people. They didn't care at all about the terrible risks into which they dragged home buyers. Lenders lured borrowers into mortgages they knew full well the borrowers could not pay. They did things like sell a house for $300,000 when it was only worth $180,000. The banks have been rewarded for it and the victims have been left without help.

POP announced that it will launch a mass campaign to enlist victims of the housing bubble to demand that New Jersey Attorney General Paula Dow prosecute mortgage lenders for manipulation of the housing market. Penalty upon conviction will be write-down of mortgage principals to reflect true market value by an objective and uniform standard.

Kathleen Witcher of the Irvington NAACP gave a vivid picture of the suffering caused by the housing bubble. She said that 40% of the houses in Irvington have been foreclosed and the rate may go as high as 80%. Drastic rates in property taxes have resulted. Many homeowners cannot pay the higher taxes, which creates another risk of loss of homes.

Phyllis Salowe-Kaye of NJCA noted that all 50 state attorneys general have submitted an “Accountability Proposal” to resolve the ‘robogate’ problem, but without any requirement for principal write-downs in programs like the Home Affordable Mortgage Program (HAMP.) The AGs set no specific goals or quotas for write-downs. They need to institute mandatory measures for loan servicers. 60% of homeowners could remain in their homes if the mortgage was reduced to the actual market value. “Allowing significant principle modifications would stem the flow of foreclosures and reduce the uncertainty about the housing market and mortgage securities, giving more time to devise approaches to the messy problem of clouded titles and faulty loan conveyances,” she said.

A basis for legal action in existing law and practice was given by people’s attorney Bennet Zurofsky. He said, “The lenders and investors were the ones in the best position to know that they were profiting from a bubble that they themselves were inflating. The law calls this unjust enrichment and the New Jersey Attorney General has the power to do something about it by bringing a lawsuit against the lenders and the investors on behalf of the people of New Jersey to return the riches they have unjustly obtained from the people of New Jersey.” He noted that actions have been brought against persons who benefited from the Bernard Madoff ponzi scheme on the basis of unjust enrichment.

A POP member said that there is a power that can act effectively against entities as powerful as big banks. It is the power of the people! Not even the administration of reactionary New Jersey Governor Christopher Christie can ignore the will of the people who have been harmed by the housing bubble, once they are aware and united. It was also noted that the total overvaluation of the housing market was about $2 trillion, and that no recovery from the depression is possible until this burden in removed.

Cries of “power to the people!” and “mortgage write-down now!” rang out. It is clear that the people of New Jersey can make write-down their issue and their demand and create a powerful mass movement for it.

#TrentonNJ #POP #Foreclosures #HousingStruggles #mortgageCrisis #