Brooklyn facing crisis in housing theft and foreclosures, advocates say

Foreclosure prevention orgs lack funds to meet demand

As real estate values in Brooklyn have gone through the roof, homeowners in gentrifying black and brown communities in the borough are increasingly being targeted by housing predators, legislators were told on Friday at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Residents and housing experts testified at a standing-room-only hearing that homes worth millions of dollars are being systematically stolen through deed theft, liens for minor unpaid bills, fraudulent documents, predatory foreclosures and HPD’s Third Party Transfer (TPT) program.

Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights and East New York have some of the highest rates of real estate fraud, along with Canarsie and Flatlands, legal advocates said.

The hearing was sponsored by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery and Assemblymember Tremaine Wright, and was joined by numerous elected officials, including State Sen. Brian Kavanagh.

State Sen. Montgomery said minority homeowners often don’t know who to turn to when in crisis, and urged the many foreclosure experts present to propose solutions.

To read the full story, visit https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/03/19/brooklyn-housing-theft/