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A Letter From PACC
December 16, 2008
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Dear
Friend and Supporter
of PACC,
Pedro and his
wife Anneta, in their late 20's, came to
Pratt Area Community Council, PACC, in November 2007, desperate to save
their
home in Bushwick. The couple had started falling behind on payments
when
Pedro's company downsized and he lost his job; a blow that coincided
with a
balloon in their mortgage that they were totally unaware of. They were
in
arrears of $25,160 when they met with PACC's Foreclosure Counselor.
Many other couples like Pedro
and his wife are in dire straits and need help.
Fifty six out of every thousand properties in Bed-Stuy are entering
into
the foreclosure process. As we face job
loss, a plunging stock market and a credit squeeze, those hardest hit
are the
very people that need help the most.
PACC contacted the couple's servicer and after lengthy
negotiations was able to obtain a loan modification for the couple
which
eliminated the balloon and fixed the interest rate. Pedro and Anneta
will now spend this holiday safe in their home.
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In the face of so
many problems, it's easy to be
overwhelmed but you can make a difference.Your donation of $ 250
would
fund foreclosure intervention counseling and assistance for one family
in
Central Brooklyn. Donate now!With
your support we will continue to
intervene and prevent home loss on behalf of neighborhood residents in
Central Brooklyn.
In fact, PACC
is now responding to a new unprecedented problem that
threatens to undermine decades of progress. Predatory equity
is the new face of
sub-prime and possibly the next mortgage-backed crisis.
In only a few years, private
 investors, backed by Wall Street, have bought
90,000 units of affordable rent
stabilized housing in NYC with expectations of high return on
investment only
achievable by illegally displacing large numbers of low-income
residents. After an endless line of tenants
streamed
into PACC's Brooklyn office complaining of harassment and frivolous
lawsuits,
PACC placed twelve buildings under "displacement watch". In one
instance a
tenant was in danger of being evicted when the landlord claimed that he
was
illegally subletting to his daughter! PACC managed to get him free
legal
representation and is monitoring the case.
The highly
speculative nature of these deals is a serious threat to the stability
and
viability of working class neighborhoods not only in Brooklyn but
throughout
the City. While assisting neighborhood residents, PACC is also in
collaboration
with several other agencies in New York City to draw attention to this
serious
situation and demand policy change. |
PACC's
work does not stop with tenant support. Our preservation initiatives
include:
- Green
buildings: PACC has
incorporated Green Design into most of
its developments as a matter of course
and expects our projects to
use 25% of the energy that the average
building
uses for heat and hot water and 50% of the energy for electricity in
common
areas.
- The
newest development - The Hawthorne
Condominium - is a beautifully restored 19th Century Romanesque
residence,
located at 420 Classon Avenue in Clinton Hill.
Keep Housing Affordable!
Your
donation will be part of a larger grant to help preserve 1 unit of
affordable
housing.
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Why should
you give your hard earned money to
PACC? A good
question... with 45 years of direct service experience, Pratt Area
Community
Council is uniquely situated to ensure that everyone has the
opportunity to own
- and hold onto - their home safely.
We
ask your support as a
Brooklynite or as someone who works in Brooklyn to share our concern
for
Brooklyn's neediest. Any amount is welcome but please give
generously!!! You can donate by visiting our website www.prattarea.org
Best
wishes,
 
Mariadele
Priest
Deb
Howard
Board
Chair
Executive
Director
P.S
Of course, since
PACC is a not for profit 501c 3 organization your donation is
tax-deductible.
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