At a rally on Monday, Klein along with housing advocates, recently evicted renters, and his colleagues spoke about the serious impacts of the evictions caused by the current crisis in the credit market.
Tenants are often unaware of the foreclosure until bank adopts ownership upon auction and notifies them. They are then required to move out within ten days under threat of suit, said Klein.
“[The tenants] really are innocent victims,” said State Senator-elect Dan Squadron. “They’ve done nothing wrong. They pay their rent on time. They live in their homes. And then these banks come in and give them coal. They give them coal in their Christmas stockings because they want to get their cash out of these homes as quickly as possible.”
By borough, Queens leads with 351 evictions, followed by 100 in Brooklyn, 50 in Bronx, 49 in State Island, and two in Manhattan. According to Klein, every day, an average of 30 families is compelled to file in the housing courts to save themselves from homelessness.
“And now we are seeing they [lending institutions] are not doing anything to make sure tenants can stay in their homes,” said Klein. “I think the time has come for these lending institutions, these subprime scrooges, to step up to the plate and make sure that not only home owners can have an opportunity to stay at their homes but tenants as well.”
Klein explained the top ten lending institutions responsible for the foreclosures received more than $122 billion under the recent Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). “Unfortunately there were no strings attached,” he said. “There was nothing requiring that these lending institutions to modify mortgages and keep primary homeowners in their homes.”
Klein has proposed the Operation Protect Your Home, a foreclosure prevention forum, in response to the evictions. The forum encourages active negotiation and communication between the lenders and borrowers to avoid the foreclosure.
In addition, he has introduced legislation to assist those who are facing eviction. After assuming ownership, a bank would need to notify the occupants no less than 120 days ahead of the eviction. Moreover, at the beginning of any proceeding to evict a tenant, the new owner must file proof of service and give of notice of intent to evict.
“This is what we need to do, not only during the holidays, in keeping people in their homes. But each and every day, we have to make sure that tenants do know these requirements to make sure that they can stay in their homes.”
Evictions Numbers by Institutions and Boroughs
Queens (Top 10)
Deutsche Bank: 108
U.S. Bancorp/U.S. Bank: 42
Wells Fargo: 41
HSBC: 35
LaSalle Bank: 20
Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac: 19
Bank of New York: 19
Countrywide Savings: 7
Wachovia: 6
EMC Mortgage: 6
Brooklyn (Top 10)
Deutsche Bank: 23
U.S. Bancorp/U.S. Bank: 17
Wells Fargo: 13
Fremont Invest. & Loan: 8
Bank of New York: 7
HSBC: 6
JP Morgan Chase: 5
Fannie/Freddie Mac: 5
Christina Bank & Trust Co.: 4
Lehman Brothers: 4
Bronx (Top 5)
U.S. Bancorp/U.S. Bank: 15
Deutsche Bank: 12
HSBC: 7
Bank of New York: 4
Fannie Mac/Freddie Mac: 2
Aurora Loan Servicing: 2
Staten Island (Top 5)
U.S. Bancorp/U.S. Bank: 11
Deutsche Bank: 10
Wells Fargo: 6
Fannie/Freddie Mac: 5
HSBC: 3
WAMU: 3
Manhattan (Top 2)
JP Morgan Chase: 1
WAMU: 1