Detroit coalition steps up foreclosure fight
By
Kris Hamel
Detroit
Published Apr 17, 2011 11:08 AM
The ongoing struggle for a moratorium to halt mass foreclosures is gaining new
steam in Detroit and Wayne County, Mich. On April 6 scores of labor, faith and
community activists filled the sanctuary at Greater St. Matthew’s Baptist
Church in Highland Park, Mich., for a press conference held by the People
Before Banks Coalition to announce the introduction of the “Homeowner
Protection and Neighborhood Preservation Act” before the Wayne County
Commission on April 7.
Commissioner Martha G. Scott of Highland Park, a former state senator who
introduced the act, opened the press conference, followed by coalition
organizers and leaders, including the Rev. Bill Wylie-Kellerman; Bob King,
president of the United Auto Workers international union; Dave Ivers on behalf
of Metro Detroit AFL-CIO President Saundra Williams; Pastor D. Alexander
Bullock, president of Rainbow PUSH Detroit and senior pastor of Greater St.
Matthew’s; and Jerry Goldberg and Vanessa Fluker, anti-foreclosure
attorneys and leaders in the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures,
Evictions & Utility Shutoffs.
The act “[seeks] to protect homeowners, preserve our neighborhoods, and
insure the proper documentation and payment of county fees for mortgage
assignments” by A) calling for “an independent audit of foreclosure
sales to determine the extent to which the county and its citizens have been
victimized and economically harmed by the fraudulent practices of banks and
mortgage servicers; B) urg[ing] the Sheriff to implement a moratorium on
foreclosure sales of occupied residential housing for one year; and C)
plac[ing] the issue of implementing such a moratorium on the Nov. 8, 2011,
ballot as an advisory question.”
“The sheriff should not be supporting those who break the law,”
declared King. “The banks got a $700 billion bailout and now they refuse
to help homeowners. We have to look at this in the broader context of the
out-and-out attacks on working people. We have to fight for fairness and
justice.”
A coalition release noted that “more than 100,000 Michigan homes were
foreclosed in 2010, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. Wayne
County alone accounted for one-quarter of that total and more than 400
foreclosure auctions a week, according to RealtyTrac.”
“Not only did the banks get the big bailouts everyone’s heard of,
but the banks are still getting bailed out — they get paid the full
mortgage value by the federal government when they foreclose on homeowners and
their families,” said Fluker. “The banks won’t stop
foreclosures because foreclosures are too lucrative for them. We have to stop
them.”
Time to ‘hold banks accountable’
The proposed bill states, “The process of mortgage origination,
securitization, rating, and foreclosure has been characterized by allegations
of massive fraud, from the predatory lending practices of sub-prime mortgage
companies, to the deceptive practices of Wall Street underwriters, to the
misrepresentation of security valuations by ratings agencies, to the improper
recording of mortgage assignments and evasion of county fees, to the
counterfeiting of mortgage documents and robo-signing of affidavits at
foreclosure.”
Person after person stood up at the April 7 County Commission meeting during
the public comments section to voice their support for Scott’s proposal.
These included the head of the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood association on
Detroit’s east side. Goldberg urged the commission to put the moratorium
on the November ballot and told how the U.S. Supreme Court upheld foreclosure
moratoriums in Michigan and other states during the Great Depression. Nancy
Brigham supported Scott’s measure and a moratorium. “My home on the
east side is one of those that was saved in the 1930s,” she said.
Steve Babson also supported the moratorium and said foreclosures were similar
to the attacks of “elimination of the earned income tax credit, taxing
our pensions, cuts in unemployment benefits and cuts to public workers”
currently on the legislative agenda in Michigan.
“After next Thursday I’ll be homeless,” said an
African-American woman who retired two years ago from Ford Motor Company after
more than 30 years on the job. She said the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development refused to help her keep her home of 24 years. “It is
too late for me now, but I ask the Commission to support those coming after me
and all the people who are in my shoes.”
Fluker arrived late and explained to the Commission and the audience: “I
just got done in 36th District Court, because the bank sold my client’s
house for one dollar. The arrogance of these banks who refuse to deal with
people and then throw them out of their homes for one dollar! This illegal and
unscrupulous conduct of the banks is destroying our communities and the
economic base of our county. It is imperative to act quickly and hold the banks
accountable.”
Wayne County Commissioners Bernard Parker, Tim Killeen and Alisha R. Bell
voiced their support for Scott’s proposal.
For more information on the Homeowner Protection and Neighborhood Preservation
Act and to get involved in this struggle, visit www.peoplebeforebanks.org or
the “People Before Banks Coalition” page on Facebook.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email:
[email protected]
Subscribe
[email protected]
Support independent news
DONATE