New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. addresses several hundred New Yorkers at his foreclosure prevention and consumer banking conference in Queens on Monday, February 4, 2008. Photo Credit: Marla S. Maritzer

Addressing hundreds of New Yorkers at his foreclosure prevention and banking conference, New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. vowed that “we must take action” to overcome the national subprime mortgage crisis forcing thousands of area residents to struggle to hold onto their homes.

Thompson’s conference – held last night in Queens, the New York City borough hit hardest in the national mortgage subprime crisis – drew more than 250 people seeking financial skills, advice on banking, and assistance to avoid being evicted from their homes.

“With guidance and support, many homeowners can regain their footing and protect their property,” Comptroller Thompson said at York College’s Academic Core Building in Jamaica. “Despite the current crisis, we must never lose faith in the perseverance of our communities and the dream of home ownership.”

The free conference featured workshops on avoiding foreclosure and predatory lending, savings and credit, and financial maintenance and home protection. It was the fourth time Thompson organized such a conference: earlier ones were held at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn in October 2006, at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem in May 2007, and at Hostos Community College in the Bronx in September 2007.

Monday’s event was co-hosted by Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, U.S. Congressman Gregory Meeks, New York State Senators Malcolm Smith and Shirley Huntley, New York State Assemblymembers William Scarborough, Vivian Cook, Barbara Clark, Audrey Pheffer, and Michelle Titus, and New York City Councilmembers Leroy Comrie, Thomas White, Jr. and James Sanders, Jr.

Lois Booker-Williams, Assistant Attorney General, Brooklyn Regional Office, New York State Attorney General’s Office, speaks at an Avoiding foreclosure/Predatory lending workshop at New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr.’s Foreclosure Prevention and Consumer Banking Conference at York College on Monday, February 4, 2008.  Photo Credit:  Marla S. Maritzer

The conferences have been just one way that the New York City Comptroller’s Office has reached out to New Yorkers to assist them with financial and homeownership problems. Last April, Comptroller Thompson annou

nced the creation of a Foreclosure Prevention Helpline to offer help.

To date, that Helpline – which is at (212) 669-4600 – has received more than 2,600 calls for information and help, and opened 1,054 cases, with 814 of them originating from the five boroughs. Of them, the steepest numbers are from Queens.

The breakdown of the current number of active cases shows Queens being hit the hardest:

Queens            343           42.14%
Brooklyn          263          32.31%
Staten Island     95           11.67%
Bronx                87           10.69%
Manhattan         26            3.19%
Total               814            100%

The Helpline links callers with United States Department of Housing and Urban Development certified counselors in their specific neighborhoods. Members of the Comptroller’s Community Action Center have received in-depth training on how to handle foreclosure cases, and monitor each case to ensure help is provided.

“We continue to hear stories of despair, from people who are confronted with the difficult choices of paying bills and affording to put meals on the table for their families,” Thompson said. “We have heard from homeowners who were taken advantage of by brokers and lenders that they had trusted. We have heard from people who have had their credit scores devastated by foreclosures and now worry how their damaged credit will impact their futures.  We have also heard about the harsh economic consequences that foreclosures can have on neighboring properties and entire communities. We as a city cannot afford to sit on the sidelines, do nothing, and think that these challenges will solve themselves. We must take action.”

The subprime mortgage crisis has substantially affected the New York City area, with several Queens neighborhoods encountering the highest rates of foreclosure in the area. The Web site RealtyTrac recently reported that the number of homeowners in Queens that dealt with foreclosure rose 59 percent in 2007 – with 11,000 homeowners facing evictions - compared with the previous year.

“We must all work together to help our neighbors in need,” Thompson said. “Foreclosures not only close the doors of opportunity for countless New Yorkers, but adversely impact our neighborhoods as a whole.”

The Comptroller also launched radio and television Public Service Announcements in late summer and early fall to offer help, and he published a Foreclosure Prevention Guide – available at www.comptroller.nyc.gov - offering information about mortgages, how to avoid foreclosures, and foreclosure prevention counseling services.

Late last year, the Comptroller launched the citywide “Save Our Homes” initiatives. Through this initiative, Thompson’s office has worked with labor, clergy and neighborhood organizations to highlight the crisis and offer assistance to New Yorkers. Thompson has since regularly visited religious institutions to talk about the issue and distribute thousands of guides.