CNYCN Newsletter 3rd Edition
Center for New York City Neighborhoods Newsletter
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Date: May 20th, 2011 |
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CNYCN Website
About CNYCN
CNYCN in the News
CNYCN Publications
Loan Modifications Trends: Permanent Modifications Have Been Steadily Increasing (4/2010 – 3/2011)
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In This Issue:
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New HPD Commissioner Mathew Wambua Joins CNYCN Board
Mathew M. Wambua, the new Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development was welcomed by Chair Herb Sturz and fellow board members at the meeting of April 26, 2011. Wambua takes the place of former Commissioner Rafael Cestero.
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Wambua noted that CNYCN has achieved a great deal since its inception, and that he looked forward to helping chart the Center’s future course. Since 2008, CNYCN has established homeowner outreach programs and a neighborhood-based network of foreclosure experts that offers a range of foreclosure prevention programs. To date, CNYCN has provided free housing counseling and legal services to nearly 14,000 homeowners, many of whom have received tangible financial solutions from their lenders and, as a result, have been able to stay in their homes.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said in his announcement of Wambua’s appointment: “We’re two-thirds of the way through completing the most ambitious affordable housing plan underway anywhere in the nation, and Mat’s leadership, intelligence and financial acumen will help us meet our goals.”
Michael Hickey, Executive Director of CNYCN, commented: “We’ve really benefited from the direct involvement of the Housing Commissioner since the inception of the organization, and we look forward to continuing our close working relationship to the agency and Commissioner Wambua in particular.”
Prior to becoming HPD Commissioner, Wambua served as Executive Vice President of Real Estate and External Relations of the New York City Housing Development Corporation, which is one of the nation’s largest issuers of multi family affordable housings bonds, supplying capital to support the Mayor’s New Housing Marketplace Plan to finance the creation or preservation of 165,000 affordable units by 2014. From 2004 through 2008, Wambua was Senior Policy Advisor for the New York City Deputy Mayor for Economic Development.
Wambua’s predecessor Rafael Cestero leaves behind a strong record of helping NYC’s affordable housing market, despite many economic challenges. Commissioner Cestero helped New York City strengthen its foreclosure prevention efforts by developing the $6.4 million dollar Mortgage Assistance Program (MAP). The program provides no-cost loans to homeowners seeking to achieve sustainable loan modifications. CNYCN is the administrator of MAP on behalf of the City.
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CNYCN's Mike Hickey Joins Reps Maloney, Rangel and Housing Advocates to Fight for Federal Foreclosure Prevention Programs
Congress members Carolyn Maloney and Charles Rangel hosted a press event on March 24th on the steps of City Hall, combating efforts to eliminate important federal foreclosure prevention programs during recent budget negotiations. They were joined by CNYCN's Executive Director Michael Hickey, along with Willie Rapfogel, CEO of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty; Mitchell Kent of the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs; Bisoondaye Maharaj, a Queens homeowner who has benefitted from federal mortgage programs; and Seema Agnani, Executive Director of the Chhaya Community Development Corporation. Congresswoman Maloney also released a report on the impact of federal foreclosure prevention programs. View the report here.
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Thanks to the efforts of Congress members Maloney, Rangel and other policy makers and advocates, the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), the Emergency Homeowner
Loan Program (EHLP), the FHA Refinance Program (HARP) and the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) remain successfully in effect.
At the event, Congresswoman Maloney stated: "Republicans are making an all-out effort to terminate help for struggling homeowners, while offering no plan of their own to stem the foreclosure crisis. Ending these programs will put New York families on the street and threaten our economic recovery. The HAMP program has already helped more than 32,000 New Yorkers stay in their homes and could deliver more than $400 million in aid to New York over the next two years. It's vital that Senate Democrats and President Obama prevent the complete elimination of programs that help struggling New Yorkers stay in their homes."
U.S. Representative Charles Rangel added: "I want to commend my colleague Carolyn Maloney for standing up for those who still need our help to get through our current economic crisis. This mortgage mess doesn't just affect homeowners. It affects whole communities, from landlords and tenants to small businesses who depend on residents to purchase items and goods. We cannot hope to rebound strongly by letting our neighbors get thrown out on the street. We need to continue to move forward and provide the kind of resources not only to help people get back on their feet, but also succeed."
"Foreclosure prevention is hard work, and far from perfect, but it's precisely for this reason that federal efforts should be strengthened, expanded, and properly managed - not terminated," said Michael Hickey, Executive Director of the Center for New York City Neighborhoods. "We look forward to a dialogue with federal leaders to discuss how we can make foreclosure prevention better, because if we don't, the situation for homeowners and communities will certainly grow worse."
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CNYCN Hosts Rise Up & Stay Put! Home Rescue Fairs in the Bronx and Queens
The Center for New York City Neighborhoods and its national and local partners hosted two Rise Up & Stay Put! Home Rescue Fairs in the Bronx and Queens this spring. A total of 1,400 homeowners attended these events, and more than 1,000 individual mortgages were processed by the participating lenders and servicers. Approximately 40% of the clients were also seen by CNYCN housing counselors and legal services providers.
The Bronx Fair was visited by the Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who said that he was impressed with the quality of services available and the diversity of clients at the event. Nearly 25 % of the attendees were Latino, a number that is representative of the Bronx homeowner market.
The turnout for the Queens event was especially strong, given the rainy Easter weekend. More than 800 homeowners turned out to York College in Jamaica. The Queens Rise Up & Stay Put! Fair was officially supported by Council Members Leroy Comrie and Ruben Wills. Other Queens elected officials who came to lend their support and to greet the homeowners included Congressman Gregory Meeks, State Senator Shirley Huntley, and Assemblywoman Vivian Cooke.
CNYCN has hosted four such events and reached more than 3,200 homeowners in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. In addition, homeowners have come from as far away as Long Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Local elected leaders and media personalities such as Bob Slade from Kiss FM have personally committed to supporting these efforts, which has clearly had a powerful impact on outreach.
Black, Hispanic, and Asian homeowners are the overwhelming majority of customers at these fairs, comprising approximately 85% of all attendees. Although hundreds of new case files were opened at the events, close to
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Council members Leroy Comrie, Ruben Wills and assemblywoman Vivian Cooke at the Queens event, April 23
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and Bob Slade of KISS FM with volunteers at the Bronx event, March 12
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60% of the participants had already applied for a loan modification, and were
hoping to check on their status or resubmit needed documentation. Based on exit surveys, 85% of the homeowners left the events either "very satisfied" or "satisfied" by the outcome of their visit.
"I encourage Queens homeowners who find themselves in danger of foreclosure to attend the Home Rescue Fair on April 23," stated Comrie at a press event before the Queens Rise Up & Stay Put! fair. "I am proud to join my colleague, Council Member Wills, in continuously raising awareness about this issue. My office has partnered with organizations like the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, Queens Legal Services and Neighborhood Housing Services of Jamaica to offer free foreclosure counseling in community-wide events and in my district office every Friday afternoon. No one should suffer in silence as they lose their home when there is free assistance available."
"While the country has shifted its attention to other pressing matters, the neighborhoods that I represent are still struggling with escalating foreclosures, bad mortgage modifications, and greedy predatory lenders," said Wills. "The foreclosure epidemic in Southeast Queens threatens to upset our efforts to improve our quality of life and our chances of owning a piece of the American dream. I am determined to ensure that struggling homeowners in Southeast Queens are educated and no longer vulnerable consumers that continue to lose their wealth as a result of gluttonous lending institutions."
We are looking forward to our next event in Brooklyn, which we plan to hold July 30th. Look for details shortly.
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CNYCN Mortgage Assistance Program (MAP) Update
The Mortgage Assistance Program (MAP), a program administered by CNYCN on behalf of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), is helping homeowners at risk of foreclosure in New York City. MAP provides zero percent interest loans with no monthly repayments for terms of at least 30 years to homeowners in need.
MAP loans can help eligible homeowners recover from a loss of income after a temporary period of unemployment, or as a result of a major medical expense. MAP loans can also assist homeowners who had unaffordable mortgages to begin with and are consequently having a hard time balancing their household budget. MAP loans have also proven useful in paying down second mortgages that many homeowners in New York City used to finance their homes in the past decade. Replacing one of these mortgages with a MAP loan decreases homeowners' monthly mortgage payments, increases equity, and substantially reduces the risk of foreclosure. In other cases, MAP loans are being used to induce servicers to make mortgage modifications they might not otherwise make.
The results to date are promising. Overall MAP loans have reduced borrowers' monthly payments by an average of $546. Furthermore, when MAP loans are used to pay off second liens, MAP has achieved an average of $2.39 in principal reduction for every $1 of MAP funding.
CNYCN hired Matt Hassett as Program Manager for MAP in February of this year. Matt worked on foreclosure mitigation and distressed asset programs while at HPD and joined CNYCN after working in Morgan Stanley's Global Sustainable Finance group on community reinvestment programs. Matt has hosted a series of outreach events with counselors and legal services providers both at their offices and online via webinar. He is also attending events for homeowners this summer at community gatherings organized by neighborhood non-profits and religious organizations to reach even more homeowners.
As counselors and legal services providers become even more familiar with the program, CNYCN is confident that we will find many new ways to leverage MAP funds to prevent foreclosures, make modifications happen, and continue to help homeowners across the city remain in their homes.
The MAP application can be completed online. Housing counselors, free legal services providers, and homeowners can dial CNYCN's call center directly at 646-786-0888 to learn how to apply for MAP.
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