#Stop Manhattan Foreclosures

[xtruss]

For New Yorkers, ‘There Are No Consequences For Not Paying Your Property Taxes’ As Delinquencies Spike To $880 Million

— By Martin Z. Braun and Bloomberg | March 28, 2024

New Yorkers Aren't Quite Paying Their Property Taxes. Getty Images

More New Yorkers have stopped paying their property taxes — a troubling trend since the onset of the pandemic that city officials attribute to the end of a tax-lien sales program that punishes delinquency.

Overdue property taxes are forecast to reach its highest level ever, jumping by over 30% to more than $880 million at the end of the fiscal year in June from three years ago, according to an offering document for a city general obligation bond sale Tuesday. That means New York could be bringing in less tax revenue, since close to half of it comes from property tax collections.

“It’s not just the absolute dollar amount that I think should worry us all,” said Preston Niblack, the city’s Finance Commissioner at a March 4 City Council finance committee hearing.

It’s people realizing that “there are no consequences for not paying your property taxes,” he said. “That just can’t be allowed to continue.”

To be sure, the rise in unpaid property taxes comes as New York’s office market continues to struggle. The overall vacancy rate for Manhattan office space stood at 22.5% in November, the highest on record, according to the city’s January financial plan.

Rent-regulated apartments are also facing stress after a 2019 law sharply reduced landlords’ ability to raise rents.

Since a tax-lien sale program on unpaid property taxes expired in March 2022 and wasn’t reauthorized by City Council, officials say delinquent owners have no incentive to pay their debts. Under that plan, the city was authorized to sell liens on single-family homes and condos after three years of nonpayment, liens on other property types could be sold after one year.

The city would package its most marketable liens into securities for sale at a discount to a third-party trust, which borrows money from investors to pay the city upfront. The trust assumes responsibility for collecting the debt through servicers and add fees and interest payments. After investors are paid back, the city is entitled to collect additional revenue from interest payments and fees.

Community activists and some elected officials criticized the program for unduly targeting low-income property owners. The “additional fees can quickly turn a relatively small tax lien into an overwhelming financial burden, eventually pushing homeowners into foreclosure,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in December 2020, referring to a mandatory 5% surcharge, legal fees and a 9% or 18% interest rate that compounds daily.

Equitable Solution

The city’s Department of Finance said it is working on legislation that would reauthorize tax-lien sales that would ensure homeowners don’t face foreclosure or eviction.

“We look forward to working with the [City] Council on this important issue and look forward to a new, more equitable form of property tax enforcement.” said Ryan Lavis, a Department of Finance spokesman.

The City Council said in a statement it is working with the “Administration, advocates, impacted communities, and all stakeholders to advance policies that address outstanding charges while supporting the economic health of homeowners, our communities, and the City.”

Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani created tax-lien sales in 1996, in an effort to raise revenue and close budget gaps. Between fiscal years 2018 and 2022 the city collected $260 million from such sales, according to the city’s bond offering document — a fraction of revenue generated by overall property taxes.

New York expects to collect $32.7 billion in property taxes in the current fiscal year, providing about 45% of city tax revenue and almost 30% of overall funds for the current $114 billion budget.

City Council Member Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side of Manhattan, said three buildings in her district each owe $1 million. As of March 8, single-family and condo owners made up a third of delinquencies while rentals comprised 28.5% and commercial property 38.2%, according to the Department of Finance.

The biggest scofflaws: A 16-unit Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, rental building owes $52.2 million and a 49-unit apartment building in the Bronx owes $24.7 million, according to a list compiled by the city’s Department of Finance for Bloomberg News.

Hyacinth Blanchard, listed by the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation as the head officer of the Cobble Hill property, didn’t return a voice mail requesting comment. No one answered the phone at Romad Realty, the listed owner of the apartment building in the Bronx.

“We have to do something,” Brewer said. “People should pay their taxes.”

[mfi-miami]

Harlem Homeowner Sees Mortgage Balloon From $100,000 To $7 Million

Harlem Homeowner Sees Mortgage Balloon From $100,000 To $7 Million

Elderly Harlem Homeowner Giselle Allard’s Mortgage Balloons From $100,000 To $7 Million 

An elderly Harlem homeowner who owns four Harlem brownstones may end up homeless. All because of the massive debt on one of the properties that ballooned beyond control.

What began as a $100,000 mortgage 20 years ago on a dirt-cheap piece of property along a crime-ridden neighborhood has escalated…

[prorevenge]

Damage my home? I'll take yours.

This isn't my revenge but my MIL.

My MIL is a pretty well off woman. She owns a large number of rental properties and her and her husband have a huge house located just outside NYC. Its got an indoor pool, sauna, elevators etc. and is worth well into the 7 figures being only five minutes from downtown Manhattan. Sadly her husband passed away and she remarried and moved out of state. She put the house up for rent shortly after.

A broker approached her with two prospective tenants. The tenants were music producers and had some legit acts they worked with. One of them was the "business" guy and the other was the "talent." The "talent" I'll call Ben. The two were partners in the beginning and the business guy made sure the rent was paid on time. He was legit and did not screw around. They used the house as a a place for artists to chill out and work on their music.

After a couple of years, biz guy and Ben had some sort of falling out and biz guy left and Ben stuck around. At first, he continued to pay the rent on time but after a few months it kept getting later and later. By itself, not the worst thing. Owning real estate, it comes with the territory. But he started getting aggressive/racist as MIL kept insisting that she needed to be paid. MIL is not a mean person and values politeness and manners above all else.

Finally, MIL had enough and had him evicted. After the eviction they went through the house and assessed over $100k in damage. Cigg burns in the carpet, stains on the wall, pool filters and plumbing damage etc. She took him to court, won and had a lien placed against all his property. Ben was dead broke at this point aside from his home and she just didn't see the point in trying to get blood from a stone so she just moved on.

Fast forward about fifteen years...

MIL receives a notice in the mail that the bank is foreclosing on Bens home. Because she had a lien placed on all his assets, the bank was asking a judge to dismiss her lien so that they could collect what they were owed from the sale of the home. MIL was obviously going to contest this. But then she got clever.

She approached the bank and basically said, "look, sell me the house at fair market value less what I'm owed and you'll save on foreclosure costs, brokers, lawyers etc. I have cash on hand and its a win win for everyone." Bank agreed and she purchased the house for almost 25% below market value. Mind you that 25% was money she was owed anyway, but still, she didn't think she would ever see it again.

Of course, given all of Bens asshole behavior she wasn't going to just take the house without having him who was going to take it. So she found out the day they were moving out and "stopped by." Ben had a bit of difficulty placing her (it had been over a decade since they last spoke), but once he realized who she was he basically cussed her out. She never said a word, just smiled. She has since rented out his home to a lovely family with no issues.

(source) (story by PeanutsareWeaknuts)

[stranger-lex]

Commencement PT1

(name subject to change when i find one i like better)

Summary: Valerie Cortez discovers her and her family are moving to Hawkins, Indiana due to financial struggles. This means she must leave her best friends, Liv, Corey, and most importantly, Billy behind in Santa Cruz, California.

~~~

They don’t tell you how good you have it until you’re about to lose it. And I did. I lost it all. Within a few months, the life I had created for myself was gone. The life my parents had created for us was gone. The foreclosure seemed to come out of nowhere. I’m sure my parents saw it coming, but I never heard about our financial problems. Not until it was too late. The summer of 1982, my parents gave me the heads up.

“We can’t stay here, Val,” they told me, regret clear in their voices. “We talked to your Aunt Claudia. She said she’ll take us in until we’re back on our feet.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means…” my mom looked at my dad, the sadness in her eyes unmistakable.

“It means we’re moving to Hawkins.” my dad sighed, running his hand over his face.

“What? No. We can’t move. I can’t move. All of my friends are here!”

“Sweetheart… I’m so sorry. I wish there was something we could do, but we just… We can’t afford to stay here.”

The words rang in my head over and over again. I was angry. Of course I was angry. But what could I do? I knew my parents wanted to stay as badly as I did. If it were up to any of us, we would be staying in Santa Cruz.

“All of my friends” consisted of a total of three people I would miss dearly, and a few people I saw at school. It wasn’t like I was leaving an entire fleet behind, but that didn’t make leaving the three behind any easier.

Liv was away with her parents and little sister, visiting family they had in New York. I tracked down the number to the house, calling that evening when I knew they’d be in.

“Hello?” Mrs. Pace answered the phone.

“Hi, Mrs. Pace, it’s Valerie. Can I please speak with Liv?”

“Oh, Valerie, hi! Of course you can, she’s just gotten out of the shower. Liv, it’s for you.”

A shuffling was heard as the phone was passed, and then, “Hello?”

“Hi,” I said, trying to sound cheerful. “How’s New York?”

“Oh, it’s amazing! My cousins have gotten so big, they’re both walking now! Next week we’re supposed to go into Manhattan and see all the sights. I’ve never been before, I’m really excited.”

“That’s amazing,” I smiled, and meant it. “It sounds like a great trip.”

“Yeah! It’s incredible, you’d love the east coast. Once I’m out here, you guys will have to make a trip out to visit me.”

“College is a long ways away.”

“Yeah, but come on. We’re starting high school this year, and I’ve wanted to go to NYU since… forever.” She laughed. “So once I’m out here, you guys’ll have to come visit.”

“Yeah… that’s about to get a bit easier for me.”

Liv gasped. “Don’t tell me. You’re finally considering Georgetown? I knew it! It’ll still be a trip, but at least we’ll be able to see each other more than if you stay on the west coast. I know you’re really looking into Oregon, but―”

“No, Liv, listen. I… My parents just told me some pretty big news. I’m moving.”

“Where to? I know they’ve talked about moving to Los Altos for a while. That’ll be a rough drive to school every day but hey, you do what you gotta do.”

“No, not to Los Altos. To Hawkins. With my Aunt Claudia.”

Liv went silent. “Hawkins... Indiana?” She asked quietly, barely above a whisper.

“Yes. Soon, too. I just… I don’t know if we’ll be here when you get back. I wanted to tell you why.”

There was a pause. I knew there would be a pause. How were we supposed to continue on after that? It wasn’t even a real goodbye. It was an explanation, and nothing else. But with her in New York, there was no way to give her a real goodbye.

“Do they know?” She asked, breaking the silence. I didn’t need to ask who she was talking about.

“No. Not yet. Corey leaves for Arizona on Thursday. I’m going to his house tomorrow to tell him.”

“Right, his cousin’s wedding… Have you told Billy?”

My heart skipped a beat. “Billy will be… harder. I’m going to tell him after I tell Corey.”

Another pause. “How is Billy?”

“Not great. His dad’s getting worse. He’s stayed at my house a few times since you left. Sometimes he’ll come over with bruises on his arms or shaking with rage. I want to help him but he doesn’t want to talk about it.”

“Have you told your parents?”

“Not in so many words. Like I said, he shows up with bruises sometimes. He’s not the fighting type, you know him. I don’t think they’re gullible enough to believe his whole ‘I ran into a door’ act, but it’s hard to help someone who won’t accept it.”

“Or who won’t ask for it.”

“Exactly. I don’t know what to do. Since his mom left he seems so… closed off, you know?”

“It’s almost been three years. Maybe with the anniversary coming up, things are getting worse?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I hate seeing him hurt.”

“I know, I do too. I’m glad you’re there for him, even if Corey and I had to leave for a bit.”

“Yeah.” I didn’t know what else to say.

Liv sighed, then sniffled. “I guess we really will have to plan visits out here.”

“Indiana isn’t as far as New York.”

She laughed. “Yeah, you’re right.” I heard a muffled voice on her end, and then, “Hey, my mom’s right. I should probably get some rest. Thank you for calling. I promise I’ll call soon and do my best to be home before you leave.” A pause. “When do you leave?”

“I don’t know yet. Soon. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Okay, thanks, Val. I’ll see you soon.” She sounded hopeful. “I love you. Good luck with Corey and Billy.”

“I love you too. Thanks. Goodnight, tell your family I say hi.”

“I will. Sleep well.”

~~~

Corey was in his room, packing his bags when I found him. His mother had let me in, giving me a warm smile as she told me he was upstairs. I thanked her, going up the stairs and knocking on his open door. He turned around, grinning as he turned down his music and hugged me.

“Valerie! I’m so glad to see you before I leave!” He bobbed his head along to the beat, the song unfamiliar to me. “I’m so excited for Arizona. My mom said after the wedding we’re going to spend, like, two weeks there! We’re going to the Grand Canyon and I really want to visit Area 51―”

“Isn’t that in Nevada?”

Corey’s face fell. “Oh. Maybe.” His smile returned. “Close enough, right? It’s not like aliens only ever visit one place, that would be crazy!”

I laughed. Corey’s easy-going nature always made me feel better. “You’re right.”

“Are you guys going anywhere this summer? I know there was a bit of a will we, won’t we to visit Portland, have your parents made up their minds? Or are you staying here all summer?”

“Yeah… about that.” I sat on Corey’s bed, looking at my feet. “I have some news.”

Corey turned off his music, giving me a concerned look as he sat down next to me. “What’s wrong?”

“Yesterday,” I took a deep breath. “Yesterday my parents told me that we’re moving.”

He looked at me with wide eyes, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “Are you okay?”

I felt my bottom lip begin to tremble and water flood my eyes. I blinked them away, trying to laugh. “Yeah, I’m… I’m―”

“Val.” Corey said, and I broke. I began to cry, wiping my face repeatedly as if it would stop the tears from flowing.

“It’s not fair,” I cried. “I know it’s not their fault, but it’s not fair. I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here, with you and Liv and Billy. I don’t want to move to Hawkins.”

Corey moved closer to me, wrapping both arms around me. He let me cry for a few minutes before asking, “Have you told the others?”

“I told Liv,” I said, my voice hitching. “I’m going to tell Billy tomorrow. I didn’t want to tell you all at once. I thought it would make it easier. Now, I wish Liv was here so I could have herded you all up and told you in one sitting.”

“I’m sorry.” Corey said, because there was nothing else to say. We sat together in silence, Corey hugging me and me wiping my face every so once in awhile. Finally, he said, “We’ll make trips out there. Me, Billy, Liv, we’ll come see you. It’ll do us good to get out of Santa Cruz.”

“You’re getting out of here tomorrow,” I reminded him, trying to laugh.

“Yeah, well. Somebody needs to make sure Billy stays focused on school. A few visits to you, he’ll whip right into shape. And it’ll do him some good to be away from his dad.”

I nodded, following Corey’s eyes as he looked towards a pile of blankets and a pillow in the corner of his room. “He was here last night?” I asked.

Corey nodded. “His dad was drunk. He got in another fight with that woman he’s been seeing. Billy got out of there before anything too bad could happen, but… he was really upset. See if you can talk to him. He was pretty upset about it, but he didn’t tell me too much. Maybe he’ll talk to you.”

I nodded, though I doubted it. “Yeah, maybe. I’ll try.”

Corey looked around his room. “Hawkins, Indiana. Man. That’s pretty far.”

“I know.”

“Are you excited?”

“No. I mean, I’m excited to see my Aunt Claudia, and Dustin. But I don’t want to move there. I don’t want to leave Santa Cruz.”

“Valerie, I’m sorry.”

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and then his mom was at the door. “Are you staying for dinner, Valerie?”

“No, thank you. I should be getting home.”

“Are you sure? It’s no trouble at all. I’d be happy to fix you a plate.”

I smiled at her. “Thank you, but I really should be getting home.”

“Alright. Next time, then.” She returned my smile.

I did my best to ignore the burning in my chest. “Yeah. Next time.”

~~~

By the time I got home, it was dark. I had taken the long way home, wanting to figure out what to tell Billy when I saw him the following day. We were a group, the four of us: Liv, Corey, Billy, and I spent most of our time together. But with Billy, it was different. I met him first. We grew up together. He was my best friend.

Things changed for him when his dad started dating Susan. He became cold. Not only cold, he became… mean. Suddenly, whenever he was mad at Billy, he would hit him. Billy tried to cover it up, but we knew the truth. It changed Billy. He was starting to become cold, too.

But not with me. With the group, sometimes he was distance, but with me, he could be himself. He still didn’t talk much about his dad, but I knew enough. Recently, his dad had asked Susan and her daughter Maxine to move in with them. Billy wasn’t happy about it―he didn’t like how his dad had changed because of Susan. He didn’t get along with Maxine, and he resented her because his dad never even raised his voice at her.

“She’s a brat,” Billy would often say. “Susan gives her everything she wants, and me? I’m black and blue for coming home past curfew.”

I pulled my bike into my driveway, still not knowing how I would tell Billy I was moving. I locked up my bike next to the fence, too in my head to notice his bike parked on the street in front of my house, laying on its side. I locked my bike and began to make my way to my front door, multiple scenarios playing out in my head on how the conversation with Billy would go.

“Val.” I barely heard my name being called. I continued up the driveway until I heard it called again, louder this time, but still weak. “Val!”

I snapped my head up, turning to see Billy, standing next to his bike. We were a short distance away, but I could see his busted lip and bruised cheek. “Billy,” I sighed, my chest aching to see his face so beat up.

“Can I stay here tonight?”

[webuyhousesworld]

Homeowners Stopped Paying Mortgages

Homeowners Stopped Paying Mortgages

Some 3.6 million Americans are now past due on their home payments, the most since 2015

The Lower Manhattan skyline is seen as a backdrop for a traffic jam last week on an expressway in New York City. In April, the city and the state recorded some of the nation's largest increases in mortgage delinquencies. (Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images) By Kathy Orton  Record unemployment caused by the coronavirus pandemic led to the largest one-month increase in mortgage delinquencies ever recorded. The number of borrowers who stopped paying their home loans spiked by 1.6 million last month, new data shows. Not even during the Great Recession did delinquencies rise this fast. During that time, it took 18 months before there was a single-month increase as large. The national delinquency rate soared to 6.45 percent in April, up from 3.06 percent in March and three times the previous single-month record set in 2008, according to data released this week by Black Knight, a real estate data and analytics company. The 3.6 million borrowers who are past due are the most since 2015. The data represents homeowners who didn’t make a mortgage payment in April, including those who are in forbearance plans. It comes from the company’s loan-level database representing a majority of the national mortgage market. “This is truly uncharted territory,” Andy Walden, economist, and director of market research at Black Knight wrote in an email. “During the last financial crisis, it took more than a year and a half before we saw the first 1.6 million homeowners fall past due on mortgages as a result. In the economic fallout from Covid-19, that many people became past due in April alone. “Given that just 21 percent of the now 4.75 million homeowners in forbearance have made their May payments so far, this is a trend that is likely to continue.” What you need to know about asking for mortgage forbearance You only need to look at the job market to understand why so many people aren’t paying their mortgages these days. The U.S. economy shed 20 million jobs in April and the unemployment rate soared to its highest level since the Great Depression as many businesses nationwide shuttered. The impact has been swift and severe: An additional 2.4 million Americans filed jobless claims last week, the Labor Department announced, pushing the nation’s nine-week total past 38 million. 2.4 million Americans filed jobless claims last week, bringing nine-week total to 38.6 million

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (Mortgage Bankers Association) The rapid rise in delinquencies is in contrast with the Great Recession. Back then, they were more spread out over a longer period of time. “When you think of the Great Recession, it really started in 2007, 2008, but delinquencies didn’t peak until 2010,” Walsh said. “With the Great Recession, quite frankly, it dragged on quite awhile. … It happened in waves. It’s not as if a whole industry went flat. Like you have hospitality and tourism, there were whole industries that were put on hold.”

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (Mortgage Bankers Association) But unlike the Great Recession, the housing market is on better footing. Home values haven’t fallen dramatically, and many homeowners have equity in their homes. Because of that, Walsh doesn’t expect foreclosures to be as devastating as last time. Under the Cares Act, foreclosures of federally backed mortgages have been temporarily paused. Walsh also pointed out that borrowers have more alternatives to avoid foreclosure. “It’s not as if all these homeowners are underwater and they had no incentive” to make a mortgage payment, she said. “Here, there’s an incentive to make mortgage payments.” The Mortgage Bankers Association, which releases its delinquency data quarterly, found that past-due mortgages rose to 4.36 percent in the first quarter after being at an all-time low of 3.77 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. It also tracks the number of loans that have gone into forbearance. When a loan goes into forbearance, payments are reduced or postponed. The number of loans in forbearance is also increasing, albeit at a slower pace than previously. Black Knight found that 4.75 million homeowners, or 9 percent of mortgages, had entered into forbearance plans, representing $1 trillion in unpaid principal balances. MBA’s survey of lenders found 4.1 million homeowners had requested a forbearance plan, or 8.16 percent of loans. By comparison, less than 1 percent of loans were in forbearance in early March. Under the Cares Act, homeowners can suspend their mortgage payments if they have a federally backed mortgage. “The numbers are unfortunately pretty dismal,” Walsh said. “The hope is with the stimulus coming to borrowers, unemployment will help in the short term. I think a lot of this is going to be regional.” Black Knight’s data shows that states that are home to some of the hardest-hit industries are suffering the most. The states that had the biggest increases in delinquent mortgages include Nevada (5.2 percent increase), New Jersey (5.1 percent), and New York (4.9 percent). Miami (7.2 percent), Las Vegas (6.2 percent) and New York City (5.4 percent) topped the metropolitan areas. The pace of mortgages going into forbearance has slackened recently with 93,000 borrowers entering into it last week, down from 1.4 million in the first week of April. Black Knight also found that of the 4.25 million homeowners who were in forbearance at the end of April, nearly half made their April mortgage payment. Just as not everyone who is delinquent on a mortgage is in forbearance, it is also true that not all borrowers who are in forbearance have stopped making payments. Some made full payments but are holding on to forbearance as a safety net, while others made partial payments to lessen the amount they ultimately have to repay. Black Knight pointed out that May is shaping up differently. As of May 19, only 21 percent of those in forbearance plans have made a May payment. The 1.4 million homeowners in forbearance who made April payments are at risk of becoming past due in May. If the payments aren’t received by the end of the month, they would become delinquent, which could lead to another sharp increase in the national delinquency rate. CONTACT INFORMATION We Buy Houses World Email: Buyers@WeBuyHousesWorld.om Phone: 855-832-8394 Open Hours: Sun-Sat, 24hrs Read the full article

[bigyack-com]

Harlem property investor who could’ve been rich may lose it all - real estate

Gisele Allard should be a multimillionaire by now. Instead she’s worried she could end up homeless.On Thursday, two Harlem properties that Allard bought in the 1980s -- 239 Lenox Ave., three blocks from a new Whole Foods -- and 32 W. 120th St., across from Marcus Garvey Park -- were sold at a foreclosure auction for a combined total of $5.5 million. Last month, her home at 50 E. 126th St., was sold at auction for $1.2 million, her lawyer Robert Strougo said.Allard, 75, will realize none of the gains from the sale of her property portfolio -- which began when the Montreal native arrived in New York after a divorce and couldn’t afford to live in most neighbourhoods.“I had no money and I needed to be in a place that was relatively inexpensive,” Allard said in an interview. “The only place I could afford was Harlem.”It was the 126th Street property that was Allard’s undoing. She bought it 21 years ago for $135,000. But the place was known for drug dealing, and banks wouldn’t touch it, so she took a $100,000 personal loan from the seller. Then he died, and unsure where to send the payments, she eventually stopped making them, she said. Allard and her lawyers say that the debt, through the cruelty of compounded interest, is nearing $8 million.Bankruptcy FilingShe filed for bankruptcy in 2018, hoping to stave off the foreclosure of the home on East 126th Street. Instead, the move made her other assets fair game for liquidation to settle her debts. She still owns one more property, on 119th Street, which could also face foreclosure if the court determines her debts haven’t been satisfied.“This will throw me on the street,” Allard said. “I’m very close to becoming homeless.”This week, there were 28 bidders at the auction for the 120th Street property, which sold for $2.78 million, according to court records. There were 22 bidders for the building on Lenox Avenue, with the winner agreeing to pay $2.73 million.The median sale price of a townhouse in Northern Manhattan last year was $2.04 million, according to a report by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. That’s more than double the $890,000 median price a decade ago.Harlem Home Sets Upper Manhattan Record With $5.1 Million Sale“These bricks are in the right location now,” she said of her brownstones. “Ten years ago, nobody wanted them.”(The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text.) Source link Read the full article

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

New York City Open House: Struggle, Politics and History of Workers World Party

Friday, September 29 - 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm

Solidarity Center, 147 W. 24 St., 2nd floor, Manhattan

This event is geared towards people interested in joining Workers World Party, and also folks interested in learning more about the politics, history and current activities of WWP, from our invovlement in the Black Lives Matter movement and fighting against gentrification, to opposing US war and imperialism across the globe. This will be a casual event with snacks and drinks, brief presentations on the party, an open Q/A (ask us the tough ones!) and set ups around the office with info about the party's work in different struggles. It's a Friday night, so after 9pm we'll have dancing and music! --------------------------  Workers World Party is a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist party dedicated to organizing and fighting for a socialist revolution in the United States and around the world. With branches around the U.S., WWP develops militant organizers in every struggle, from anti-racist and immigrant rights to labor, anti-war and anti-imperialist struggles. We are active in the Black Lives Matter movement including advocating for disarming the police and other repressive state apparatus. Workers World Party supports the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer struggles, and the fight for the rights of people with disabilities and women. We are in solidarity with the struggle for a living income, including the massive fight for a $15 hourly wage, as well as free healthcare for all and reproductive justice. We oppose the ruling class agenda of austerity and their attacks on the living standards of all workers. We fight against home foreclosures and evictions, water and utility shutoffs, school closings and charter schools. We support unions in the fight against the bosses. We call for the end to the rule of Wall Street, the military and the corporations as a necessary step in the struggle to mitigate climate change and to stop further harm to the environment. We oppose U.S. intervention everywhere – in the Middle East, Latin America, Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Indigenous lands within the United States. We unconditionally support the Palestinian people in the struggle against the Zionist state of Israel. We call for the shutdown of the Pentagon and the use of the war budget to improve the lives of the working class and especially the oppressed peoples. We fight for the right of self-determination including the right to separation for all oppressed nations at home and abroad. More at workers.org/wwp/what-is-wwp/

[sellmyhomefastnyc-blog]

We buy homes in Queens, The Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island or Brooklyn locations and pay all cash to the owners by covering fees from the sale itself. Also get help to stop foreclosure with us!!

[hvancouve]

St Andrews Plaza, Manhattan New York Consumer Credit Counseling Service | (800) 254-4100

Wall Street edges lower as Trump adds to trade talks uncertainty: U.S. stocks were slightly lower on Wednesday after President Donald Trump’s latest comments fueled skepticism over U.S.-China trade talks and ahead of a Federal Reserve report that could indicate the pace of future rate hikes.

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St Andrews Plaza, Manhattan New York Free Consumer Credit Counseling Service call (800) 254-4100 Credit Repair, Bankruptcy Counseling, Foreclosure Prevention, Stopping Wage Garnishment, Student Loa…

from St Andrews Plaza, Manhattan New York Consumer Credit Counseling Service | (800) 254-4100 via St Andrews Plaza, Manhattan New York Consumer Credit Counseling Service | (800) 254-4100 July 22, 2018 at 06:19PM

[mfi-miami]

Stop Manhattan Foreclosures! Call 212.381.6035

Stop Manhattan Foreclosures! Call 212.381.6035

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On Changing Direction, or The Statement of Purpose That Did Not Get Me Accepted Into Grad School.

I learned to write from a janitor when I was eleven years old.

He was thirty-something with an eyebrow ring and he coached the junior high boys’ basketball team. He had bright blond hair that fell over his ears in waves and he was tall, so tall that you could see him above the heads of students and teachers as he pushed a mop bucket of sudsy water through the halls at the end of a school day. His name was Bob.

I had a best friend named Lindsay and by the time we were in the sixth grade at that small Catholic school where Bob worked, in a quiet lower-middle class neighborhood outside Buffalo, we had become restless. We took to making up stories and inventing exotic characters who lived in big cities and played in rock bands. We wrote about things we had no idea of; suicides, drug abuse, gay sex, anything that broke the mold of our daily morning prayers and afternoon bus rides. We walked around the neighborhood after school and told these stories out loud, turning around every so often to make sure that the invisible gaggle of our characters was still trailing along behind us. After a while we began to use the blank pages at the backs of our school notebooks to keep track of them all. Their names, ages, hair colors, relationships and hobbies, and a brief synopsis of the lives we’d given them:

“Sully, 25. Green eyes, long dark dreadlocks. Lost his baby daughter in a flood and now lives in a cabin at the top of a hill in the woods because he’s afraid of the rain.”

One day after school Lindsay and I were sitting in the empty cafeteria whispering and scheming over our notebooks when Bob came in with the pusher broom that looked like a giant cloth caterpillar. He stopped and leaned on the broomstick when he saw us there.

“Are you girls writing?” he asked.

“Sort of.”

That was all he needed to hear.

Besides being a janitor and a basketball coach, Bob was also a poet, a frequent contributor of work to national magazines and an active member of the local writing scene. When he caught us planning ways to torture and subsequently redeem our list of characters that day in the cafeteria, he was working on his first collection of poems, to be published later that year.

Bob immediately took us under his wing, giving us copies of his newest poems on sheets of computer paper. They were flowing rhythmic pulses of spoken art that I didn’t always understand but loved nonetheless. He gave us each a notebook, spiral bound with a rainbow colored peace sign on the thin cardboard cover, that was to be used for writing only; Bob told us that our stories should have a place of their own, not crammed into the back of a notebook filled with math problems or history definitions. But even those empty notebooks didn’t last long. All we did was write, during class or silent reading time, scribbling away at our desks, pausing to chew the end of a pen while our classmates either stared, glazed over, out the windows, or studied diligently and put their heads down when they were finished. During each lunch period Lindsay and I would trade off notebooks and see what each other’s characters had gotten up to. When each story was finished we would hand them off to Bob, who would quickly return them with pages of red-inked suggestions and praise.

“Explain this further- why such hostility between father and son?”

“Love the description of the summer house on the lake- you truly are a poet!”

He spoke of us to writer friends of his, sometimes sharing our stories after we gave him our flushed and flattered permission, and later that year, when he gave us our own copies of his collection of poems, we found our names included in the short list of acknowledgements:

“To Erin and Lindsay, my prolific proteges.”

We stayed in touch with Bob after moving on to high school, trading pages through the mail in stuffed manila envelopes. He edited and released two collections of poetry from writers from all over the city, including two pieces of mine in each. By the time the second volume came out I was in college in Boston, studying music and devoting all my time to playing, listening and songwriting. I began to study CD lyric sleeves as though they were books, digging through the rhymes and imagery to find stories. I began to keep a journal of essays chronicling my new life in a new city, keeping meticulous track of everything I saw and everyone I met. I felt the stories swirling around my head like autumn leaves caught in a cyclone wind and, after I’d practiced my scales and arpeggios, I hurried to my notebook to get the details down on paper.

A few months later I graduated and moved from Boston to Brooklyn to New Jersey and finally to Nashville. In those years I have been a hostess, a barista, and a recording engineer. I’ve worked in kitchens and grocery stores, in offices and malls. I’ve spent some overnights folding denim in the middle of Manhattan and others cleaning bathrooms in the largest recording studio in the country. I’ve had ten different zip codes in nine years. I have taken a lot of buses, a lot of trains, and a lot of notes. It is true that during much of this time I’ve felt aimless. I’ve felt like a failure and a wanderer. I have questioned, sometimes frantically, everything I had believed to be my strengths, everything I had thought I was meant to do.  But through it all, I have always kept writing. I’ve scribbled in notebooks on subways and texted paragraphs to myself walking down city streets, my fingers working feverishly while I tried to avoid hitting street lamps. I have gone home to one tiny apartment or another and pulled up new documents on the computer screen, written essays and stories about the ways in which I’d been moved, and somehow getting it out of my head through the movement of my hands has always encouraged me to keep going.

During the lowest part of my post-undergrad journey I was living in a mouse and horsefly infested apartment in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. I was half-heartedly going to job interviews at music houses and studios and taking two connecting trains into Manhattan to work full time at Gap. I went home every night and made a plate of spaghetti and butter, sitting on my twin sized bed and thinking about all the people I had seen that day and the endless stories and supporting characters that each of their lives offered. I marvelled at the smallness of myself in the midst of them and, simultaneously, how essential I was. How essential each person was in an unfathomable web of relationships and of cause and effect. It was at this lowest point that I decided I had nothing left to lose. I gathered up the stories of the people that I’d known, some for decades, some only briefly, and began to write a novel.

That novel, Rooms of The House, is about a family in the modern American rust belt, its members dealing with mental illness, bankruptcy and foreclosure, and the acceptance of each other and themselves. It tells of daughter Margot’s journey from her hometown to new cities, from her childhood friends to the colorful cast of her early twenties, and how each place and each person plays a role in helping her realize that there are some things that cannot be changed.

I know that there are still more stories for me to tell, the imagined lives of the thousands of strangers’ faces I have passed along my way: The woman who asked for a sample of decaf at my coffee shop just to have an excuse to talk to someone for a while. A landlord in Boston who I once walked in on as she cried on the phone in German. That man with the scar on the subway. That pair of kids in the street. And after taking miles of winding and crooked paths, I see my own story laid out straight in front of me. After years of wandering, I have finally allowed myself to hear what  Bob the janitor told that eleven-year-old girl. I remember once when he handed back one of the notebooks I gave him to be filled with his remarks and suggestions I saw that he had written something in bold red letters on the blank inside cover, a testimony I am finally ready to take heed of: “YOU ARE A WRITER.”

[nypaenergy]

NYPA New York State News Roundup – January 10

Happy New Year and welcome to the first NYPA New York State News Roundup of 2021. This week’s stories include updates from Governor Cuomo on New York State’s progress in fighting COVID, NYS initiatives designed to help restaurants get through the pandemic, and how the head of a Manhattan vaccine research clinic spends her Sundays.

Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During COVID-19 Pandemic

This week Governor Andrew M. Cuomo updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

"The holiday COVID hangover is here which is problematic enough, but with the introduction of the U.K. strain and the federal government's refusal to help contain it with common-sense testing requirements for international travelers, our work has become that much more complicated," Governor Cuomo said. "Despite this new challenge, New York is staying tough, and working with the health care community to ensure hospitals do not become overwhelmed. With those efforts ongoing, it's as important as ever that we collectively stay smart and commit ourselves to taking the steps necessary for stopping the spread." 

Read more here.

New York aid for restaurants during Covid-19: List of programs, how to apply

New York State has offered programs and modified or relaxed some rules in an attempt to offer aid to the dining industry struggling with the pandemic and the restrictions. Some of the updated programs include: 

New York Bar/Restaurant Recovery Fund

New York Forward Loan Fund

Pause in sales tax for Orange Zone restaurants

Moratorium on commercial evictions and foreclosures

Additional programs and more details, along with additional application information, can be found in the Syracuse Post-Standard article, here.

How the Head of a Vaccine Research Clinic Spends Her Sundays

From the NYTimes, meet Dr. Stefanie Sterling, an infectious disease expert, and get a glimpse of her work treating patients and overseeing COVID vaccination trials. 

“We’re going to need more than one or two vaccine options to get out of this pandemic,” commented Dr. Sterling, the chief infectious disease and hospital epidemiologist at NYU Langone Health in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and the head of its new vaccine research clinic. “We don’t know if one will have better long-term effects or work better in certain age groups or with certain populations, which is why we’re conducting our own trials.” The clinic continues to follow shifts or evolutions of viral strains, according to Dr. Sterling, who was vaccinated last month. “I had arm soreness, but that was it,” she said. 

Further into this detailed article readers learn more about the details of Dr. Sterling’s daily work combating COVID and how she attempts escape some of the stress, relax and unwind.

[jobsearchtips02]

As big corporations state ‘black lives matter,’ their performance history raise uncertainty

Financing, tech and retail companies are declaring assistance for a demonstration motion that has galvanized the American public amid a pandemic that has disproportionately declared black lives and incomes

Pushed by staff members in many cases, and in others by a fear of losing consumers, corporations are being required to examine their functions in perpetuating inequalities in hiring, pay and promo, cultivating hazardous office cultures and consumer discrimination. Their performance history have raised apprehension about whether they will certainly present the type of change that would make this moment a turning point for racial equity.

” There’s a great deal of performative allyship going around,” said Y-Vonne Hutchinson, president and creator of diversity consulting company ReadySet. “No one’s requesting a CEO to take a knee. You take the knee after you change your policies.”

The image of Dimon, hands gripped over his right knee, was suggested to communicate his “support for social justice,” said JPMorgan Chase spokeswoman Patricia Wexler. “Our leaders and our business have actually done a lot more than kneel, investing hundreds of countless dollars in combined humanitarian and company resources to resolve some of the most consistent challenges dealing with the black neighborhood,” she stated, highlighting the bank’s programs to help black-owned organisations, construct budget-friendly housing and hire individuals with rap sheets.

After George Floyd was eliminated in the custody of Minneapolis cops last month, hundreds of business blanketed social networks with statements knocking discrimination and professing their commitment to racial justice.

Jack Dorsey, chief executive of Twitter and Square, stated Juneteenth (June 19) a business holiday to celebrate completion of slavery, a relocation more companies are making. Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, who is wed to tennis star Serena Williams, resigned from the board to give way for the first black director in the company’s history. Bank of America guaranteed to spend $1 billion over the next 4 years to address “ financial and racial inequality sped up by a worldwide pandemic“

Walmart, the country’s biggest seller, vowed to stop locking up “multicultural” hair and charm products in display cases, and Sephora committed to committing at least 15 percent of its rack space to black-owned beauty brands. Toymaker LEGO suspended marketing for police-themed sets after video emerged revealing an officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than 8 minutes.

Popular opinion on policing and racial equity has shifted quickly considering that the 2014 protests versus police killings of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Mo., and New York.

Surveys now show a large bipartisan majority of Americans support the protests. That’s a dramatic departure from three years ago when few of the business speaking up now voiced assistance for the NFL gamer protests, and President Trump called for a boycott over players kneeling throughout the pregame national anthem. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell now states the league was wrong for not listening to players.

But activists, employees and variety specialists say they question how much business promises to “do more” will assist upend a system of economic variation in which a normal black family has just one-tenth the net worth of a normal white household.

Part of closing the racial wealth gap, they state, indicates ensuring chances for black workers to get in and rise in rewarding industries such as finance and tech, whose leadership has actually long been dominated by white executives and board members.

” I value your Black Lives Matter post. Now follow that up with an image of your senior management team and your board,” stated Brickson Diamond, president of variety consulting company Big Responses and previous chief operating officer of the Executive Leadership Council, a nonprofit concentrated on increasing the variety of black executives.

After viewing countless protesters march past his Manhattan apartment, James Gorman, chief executive of Morgan Stanley, held a conference call with a few of the bank’s highest-ranking black executives, and announced the promotion of two black women to positions on its operating and management committees.

This period “will not be quickly forgotten in history, and it should not be,” Gorman stated “God ready, it will be seen as a turning point in race relations.”

However like a number of the nation’s biggest and most prominent banks, Morgan Stanley has actually struggled to increase variety within its ranks. Only 2.2 percent of its senior executives were black in 2015.

Just 4 percent of JPMorgan Chase’s top executives are black, despite years of public, prominent efforts to increase its variety. Wells Fargo saw the portion of black senior executives fall from 8 percent in 2015 to 3.5 percent in 2019.

And at Bank of America, which paid a $ 4.2 million settlement in 2015 after being accused of victimizing black, Hispanic and female job applicants, about 5 percent of senior leaders are black. The business denied allegations of discrimination.

Goldman Sachs, which just announced a fund to support system that deal with racial injustice and financial variation, had actually paid $9 million in 2019 to settle federal claims of racial and gender pay bias. The firm said at the time that it disagreed with the government’s analysis and was dedicated to equivalent pay for workers.

The scarcity in diversity extends throughout the business world. Of the business in the Standard & Poor’s 500- stock index, 187 did not have a black board member, according to a 2019 analysis by Black Enterprise publication.

African Americans consist of a fraction of the senior leadership at the largest tech firms– 3.1 percent at Facebook, 3.6 percent at Google, 4.4 percent at Slack, 5.3 percent at Twitter and 2.7 percent of executives at Microsoft, according to business information. Amazon did not reveal the demographics of senior leadership, however their report shows that 8.3 percent of U.S. managers are black. (Amazon founder and president Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

The numbers are lower in the world of equity capital. One percent of endeavor funding went to black start-up creators in 2018, according to a study carried out by Silicon Valley Bank and others. And 1 percent of decision-makers at the top 100 venture capital companies were black in 2018, according to a yearly study by the Details, a tech news site.

In addition to employing and pay disparities, banks have actually come under fire for supposedly victimizing minority customers. Some have settled claims in recent years for targeting black and Hispanic home purchasers with dangerous, expensive loans. Homeownership, one of the most essential ways to build wealth, has remained essentially the same for African Americans since 1968.

” These are a few of the very same banks that ripped a lot wealth from black and Latino communities throughout the foreclosure crisis,” said Maurice BP-Weeks, co-executive director of the Action Center on Race and the Economy, a nonprofit focused on racial and financial justice.

Business statements supporting Black Lives Matter stand empty, he said, without significant actions such as directing earnings back into black neighborhoods, removing racial pay variations, increasing hiring from black neighborhoods and promoting black staff members. “All of these things would reveal that this is more than just platitudes.”

The American Bankers Association said in a statement that the market “condemns discrimination of any kind in the financing market, the office and beyond” and that banks of all sizes are devoted to “enhancing variety, equity and addition within the industry” and attending to “racial oppression and injustice in the nation.”

JPMorgan Chase has actually fought allegations of discrimination against black monetary consultants and customers, most just recently in recordings obtained by the New York Times in2019 The bank has actually stated it was examining how it operates “so that we could acquire a much deeper understanding of what more we can do to root out bigotry and discrimination anywhere it exists.”

At Wells Fargo, which paid $10 million last year to settle a suit filed by the city of Philadelphia accusing the bank of steering black and Hispanic customers into riskier, more costly home mortgages, a committee of senior executives is fulfilling daily to develop recommendations for addressing social inequalities facing black employees and clients. The bank rejected claims of victimizing minority customers.

” As a white guy, as much as I can try to understand what others are feeling, I understand that I can not actually appreciate and understand what individuals of color experience and the impacts of prejudiced behavior others should cope with,” Charlie Scharf, chief executive of Wells Fargo, wrote to staff members

Feeling pushed by what they want to be a transformative minute, black workers are more willing to speak out about their experiences of discrimination in the office and pressure supervisors for change.

Black tech workers are openly voicing grievances that their business are counting on their “complimentary labor” to help with hiring and recruiting. At social networks platforms, worker groups established to support members of color are asked to double as a voice for black users, an unsettled job they however feel called to satisfy.

Since the protests began, this sideline has actually become much more stuffed, according to interviews with group leaders from tech companies in the Bay Area and New York City. SoFi, the venture-backed finance business, and others have tasked black employees with choosing where business contributions ought to go and participating in company listening sessions about race. Requested for remark, SoFi indicated its declaration on Twitter that said it dedicates to “defending diversity and addition.”

” You can not stunt on social saying that you do not endure bigotry at your company then leave the labor of fixing your race problem [to] fall on your black employees,” Raki Wane, who formerly led Twitter’s resource group for black employees, Blackbirds, and now operates in policy interactions at Instagram, posted on Twitter.

To indicate its assistance for the movement, Amazon put a “Black Lives Matter” banner on its home page and at the top of Prime Video. Later on, Bezos posted angry consumer emails about the banner to his Instagram account. “Dave, you’re the sort of client I enjoy to lose,” Bezos composed in one caption.

To critics, these public statements masked the harmful effects Amazon’s items and practices have actually had on the black community, consisting of profiting from the sale of white supremacist propaganda as well as selling facial recognition innovation to authorities departments, which the company recently revealed it would suspend for one year.

Black tech employees are even sharing stories declaring bias at Slack, which established a reputation as a welcoming environment when CEO Stewart Butterfield sent four black female engineers onstage to accept an award on his behalf for the fastest-growing tech start-up in2016 This month, the very same black engineers confronted Butterfield on Twitter about their experiences at Slack.

Duretti Hirpa, an engineer who helped start an internal group for staff members of color, shared that she had actually been informed her work was considered an extracurricular activity when it came time for promotions, regardless of the company publicizing her group as proof of its inclusive culture. When Butterfield reacted that he was sorry her diversity work was not valued, Hirpa tweeted back, “Alas, you’re simply a CEO in the position of power to change that!”

Black workers working for consumer brand names are speaking up as well.

At Adidas, Julia Bond, a 25- year-old assistant designer for guys’s clothing, said the demonstrations assisted influence her to email senior executives on June 3 seeking a “public apology for the bigotry and discrimination that they have actually freely made it possible for and perpetuated across the brand.”

A number of months after joining the sports clothing firm in 2015, Bond said she was provided a design packet that included a picture of a man wearing a T-shirt with a Confederate flag. Seeing that image at work “was truly traumatizing,” Bond remembered. “If our greatest style motivation [includes] a Confederate flag, how are we ever going to reach black customers?”

In an Instagram post, another Adidas designer alleged a colleague had actually utilized the n-word. And in an e-mail to senior management posted on social media, Aaron Ture, a worker who works for Reebok, which is owned by Adidas, stated that he remembered Karen Parkin, head of global human resources at Adidas, dismissing a concern about internal bigotry during a 2019 conference as “sound we only hear in North America.”

Parkin on Friday sent a message to staff members promising to enhance company culture to “ensure equity, variety and chance.” As the company’s personnels executive, she wrote, “it was my obligation to explain our conclusive stance against discrimination, and this I did not. Must I have actually upset anyone, I apologize.”

Adidas stated that the company would need a minimum of 30 percent of all open positions in the United States to be filled with black and Latino employees and invest $120 million in programs for the black neighborhood over the next 4 years.

Bond said speaking out has actually made her “exceptionally worried.” But there’s “strength in numbers,” she stated. “I believe everyone can feel that. The numbers are showing up, and that’s what’s pushing this wave of modification.”

Adidas said the company has actually promised to “continually and actively” fight bigotry.

After L’Oreal Paris just recently posted a message stating “Speaking up deserves it,” model Munroe Bergdorf accused the cosmetics company of hypocrisy. She stated L’Oreal dropped her from a project in 2017 for speaking up versus bigotry and white supremacy following the deadly neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville. L’Oreal reacted by rehiring her to serve on its recently formed UK Variety and Inclusion Advisory Board, the business posted on Instagram.

” I are sorry for the absence of dialogue and support the business showed Munroe around the time of termination,” L’Oreal Paris Brand president Delphine Viguier composed. “We ought to have likewise done more to develop a discussion for modification as we are now doing.”

Staff members at other companies are promoting the elimination of leaders for habits they state perpetuates racism– some with fast success.

More than 100 staff members at Estee Lauder are demanding the ouster of the founder’s boy and successor, Ronald Lauder, from the board– asserting that his political contributions to Trump are harming the business’s relationship with its black staff members and with the black community at large. In action, the business said it would double the amount it invests in contracts with black-owned suppliers and recruit and promote more black workers.

CrossFit’s founder and CEO, Greg Glassman, was forced to retire over several remarks he made about Floyd’s death, including a recording of him on a conference call stating: “We’re not mourning for George Floyd– I do not believe me or any of my staff are.” In a statement, Glassman stated he had actually “developed a rift in the CrossFit community and inadvertently harmed much of its members.”

The CEO of the Wing, a private club for ladies to work and interact socially, and the editors in chief of Refinery29, a fashion and charm blog site, and Bon Appétit publication, which is owned by Condé Nast, all resigned in recent days after black and brown workers described a work environment swarming with pay variations and discrimination.

” It’s a turning point,” Diamond said. “My biggest fear is we are going to get to a location real quickly where the establishment states, ‘Well, that was uneasy. No more, thank you. Now let’s return to work.’ “

Find Out More

from Job Search Tips https://jobsearchtips.net/as-big-corporations-state-black-lives-matter-their-performance-history-raise-uncertainty/

[debtlawyer]

New York Small Business Bankruptcy

New Post has been published on https://www.debtlawyer.com/new-york-small-business-bankruptcy/

New York Small Business Bankruptcy

Understanding Small Business Bankruptcy in New York

Like individuals, small businesses in New York can face financial hardships. Similarly businesses, have several legal options when financial problems arise that can help position the business for financial recovery.

A New York small business bankruptcy does not necessarily mean the end of your business. For many situations, bankruptcy can truly mean a financial fresh start and an opportunity to recover for your business. Bankruptcy relief is available to businesses as well as individuals who have incurred personal debt keeping a struggling small business viable.

The results of spiraling debt and a failing business can be devastating for many people. Feelings of depression, relationship trouble, anxiety and sleepless nights, can affect an otherwise perfectly grounded individual whose expenses have grown unmanageable. It’s essential for both your mental and physical well-being that you reduce your debts as quickly and prudently as possible by hiring a New York small business bankruptcy attorney. The longer bills go unpaid, the more a catastrophic outcome is likely to occur, such as the loss of a home, a car, or other important property. Not to mention the health risks posed from coping with long-term stress.

David I. Pankin, P.C. – A New York Small Business Bankruptcy Lawyer

Restoring a sense of balance to your life is important. Acquiring legal representation from a New York small business bankruptcy lawyer can help set you on a path for a new financial start. We, at the Law Offices of David I. Pankin, P.C., have helped thousands of people protect their property and obtain a new financial start. We invite you to contact our office by phone at 888-529-9600 to arrange a free initial consultation with one of our NY small business bankruptcy attorneys. We have 3 convenient locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Melville, Long Island. We have helped clients from all five boroughs, Westchester, as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties.

What is Small Business Bankrutpcy

Simply put: Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code is a provision under Federal law designed to assist both individuals and businesses who are unable repay their debts. When a person files a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in New York, he or she is taking control of their situation and taking steps toward a new path of financial recovery.  Put another way, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or small business bankruptcy can help people turn over a new page in their financial history. The small business Chapter 7 filing frees an individual from having to pay dischargeable debts. These debts include but are not limited to; credit card balances, bank loans, personal loans, court judgments, and medical bills. It is important to note that there are certain non-dischargeable debts as well that typically must be paid. non-dischargeable debt generally include tax debts, student loans, government fines, court fines, as well as child and spousal support.

A person who files a successful claim under Chapter 7 bankruptcy (small business bankruptcy) is able to retain all property categorized as exempt. Commonly exempted property includes:

a certain amount of equity in your home

a certain amount of equity in a motor vehicle

most household items and personal property such as clothing

a wedding ring

the tools of your trade

most public benefits such as social security, disability, veterans benefits, worker’s compensation

alimony and/or child support

qualifying retirement accounts, pensions, and life insurance

a limited amount of cash.

For detailed information on property exemptions please visit out Property Exemptions in Bankruptcy article.

Typically, a New York small business bankruptcy (Chapter 7) results in the sale or liquidation of the debtor’s nonexempt possessions or assets. A person known as the bankruptcy trustee is authorized to evaluate and sell off the debtor’s nonexempt assets. The proceeds of this sale are used to pay off creditors.

Qualifying for Small Business Bankruptcy in NY

Recent changes to the bankruptcy laws require people who earn above the average income in their geographical area go through a means test to see if they qualify for a small business bankruptcy in New York. A two-step income and expense analysis, called the means test, can be somewhat complicated for most lay persons. However, no need to worry. Our attorneys can guide you through the means test and help determine if you are able to qualify for a small business bankruptcy. In the event you are not eligible, we can help you to explore other options such as Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Once you hire one of our small business bankruptcy attorneys from our office to represent you, we will begin working on your case immediately. Our team will represent you and guide you throughout the process, from the beginning to the end. Once you inform the collection agencies that you’re represented by an attorney, they are required by law to stop contacting you. In certain instances, declaring bankruptcy can stop some home foreclosure proceedings as well as deter the repossession of property.

Contact our office by phone at 888-529-9600 to arrange for a free consultation and begin your path to a new financial fresh start. …We have 3 convenient locations in Midtown Manhattan, Downtown Brooklyn and Melville, Long Island. We have helped clients from all five boroughs, Westchester, as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Remember,“bankruptcy is not the end, it’s a new beginning.”

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[cathrynstreich]

COVID-19: A Looming Eviction Bubble for Rentals? Flexibility Is Key in Prevention

With the outbreak of the coronavirus wreaking havoc across the nation and the globe, the real estate industry is scrambling to balance safety with business. This tension is probably the most acute within the rental markets where tenants are enduring economic hardships brought on by government-mandated stay-at-home orders.

Millions are out of work and can’t make rent, leaving landlords in a precarious position. Many are trying to be lenient and postponing payments, but many more simply cannot afford to be that generous. This leaves one controversial option: eviction.

Being forcibly removed from your home—especially amid a public health panic and economic hardship—is unthinkable for most people, and the exact opposite of what real estate professionals strive to do on a daily basis. From brokers and investors to appraisers and developers, the broader real estate community is all about putting people and families into homes. But this crisis is proving too massive for single entities to solve on their own.

The government, for its part, has deployed a robust stimulus package intended to boost taxpayers and, in some cases, curb evictions. The CARES Act does this by implementing a moratorium on evictions—as well as penalties and fees for nonpayment of rent—from all rental properties that, in any way, receive financial support from the federal government, including the following programs:

Housing Choice vouchers

Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance

Low-Income Housing Tax Credits

Mortgages secured by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

The CARES Act protections will remain in place for 120 days starting on the date the measure was enacted, March 27, 2020. However, such properties make up less than a third of the entire U.S. rental market, according to national housing research center The Urban Institute. It estimates that about 31.5 million rental dwellings will not be covered by this program, potentially leaving all those tenants out in the cold.

“There are a large number of renters who are not protected as landlords have alternative finance options and/or the properties are owned free and clear of any mortgage encumbrance,” says Chris McDermott, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based broker and property manager for real estate investment company Jax Nurses Buy Houses.

Some states, including Florida, have issued temporary moratoriums on evictions—as well as foreclosures and writs of possession—but McDermott notes that once it expires in mid-May, those tenants who can’t make rent will likely face eviction.

“The renters can be evicted once the executive order deadline passes,” McDermott says. “Ideally, given these unprecedented times, we have to help others as human beings. No one expected this and it is easier to work together. Given that local courts will ideally be backlogged and the cost for eviction isn’t cheap, it is in the best interest of both parties to work out payment arrangements for rent.”

McDermott’s team buys properties to renovate and resell or hold in their portfolio of rental properties. A portion of their proceeds go to help pay for research and medical treatment in their local community. Lately, he said he’s been spending most of his time educating partners on the benefits and limits of the CARES Act.

Brian Davis, a landlord and co-founder at rental investment firm SparkRental.com, says that the problem with limiting eviction-protections to only those who live in federally-funded or -financed homes is that the programs—namely the securitization products—were not designed for these types of housing models.

“Government-backed mortgages were designed primarily for homeowners, not real estate investors,” says Davis. “So, many landlords have other types of loans, such as portfolio loans, private loans or commercial loans against their properties, which means the tenants aren’t protected from eviction, and the landlords aren’t protected from foreclosure.”

Another layer of the crisis to consider is the backlog in the bureaucracy. With so many local civil courts closed, there is a growing eviction bubble that’s likely to burst once the rent hearings are re-opened.

“No matter how you slice it, a lot of people are going to lose in the months to come,” Davis warns. “Tenants need to pay their rent, landlords need to pay their mortgages, lenders need to pay their investors, or else investors stop funding any loans whatsoever and possibly go under, taking large swaths of the economy with them. When one domino falls, it knocks down all the others.”

Davis’ advice is for tenants and landlords to work together and figure out payment arrangements on their own.

In New York City, the U.S. epicenter of the outbreak, brokers are addressing everything from tenants losing their jobs and rent reduction requests to investors, who’ve fled the city and don’t plant to return until the end of summer, says Louise Phillips Forbes, broker of The Louise Phillips Forbes Team with Halstead Real Estate in Manhattan.

“We are working case-by-case with each tenant and owner and adapting with a collaborating mindset and compassionate attitude,” Forbes sys. “We are all experiencing the aftershock and evolution of our New World.”

According to a National Association of REALTORS® flash survey, 24 percent of landlords and 47 percent of property managers reported being flexible with rent collections that are being slowed by COVID-19, and very few leases have been terminated.

“How we collaborate together, no matter who holds the leverage, is an opportunity to bridge all gaps and work together,” Forbes says. “It has been one of the more fulfilling times of connectivity for me because we are together cutting through egos, entitlements and legalities…All are focused on being fair (and) decent.”

Andrew King is a contributor editor to RISMedia.

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[tissipropaganda]

Owners of $800M skyscraper skipped on $700K rent for sales gallery

If selling apartments at one of Manhattan’s most troubled residential condominiums wasn’t hard enough, now its owners can’t even afford to rent a sales gallery to sell them. The sponsors of the under-construction 125 Greenwich Street tower in Lower Manhattan, where construction has all but stopped and two foreclosure proceedings are ongoing, are being accused of failing to pay rent for a sales gallery at One World Trade. The landlord at One World Trade, the

Source: https://therealdeal.com/2020/02/05/owners-of-800m-skyscraper-skipped-on-700k-rent-for-sales-gallery/