ATTENTION: LDCCH Hosts Home Buyer Workshop; 1/25; 7PM

The Local Development Corporation of Crown Heights (LDCCH)- in collaboration with Project Brooklyn Homeowners- will host a Free Interactive Home Buyer Workshop on January 25th, 2012 at First Baptist Church of Crown Heights.

WHEN: Wednesday, January 25th 2012
7:00PM to 9:00PM
WHERE: First Baptist Church of Crown Heights
450 Eastern Parkway, 2nd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11225

WHAT IS IN IT FOR YOU????
• Learn How to buy a home
• Learn what to look for in a home and the right questions to ask
• Learn how to qualify for a mortgage. We make sure all attendee’s fully understand the mortgage process from start to finish
• Learn what to do if they have credit challenges and the steps to repair their credit
• ON THE SPOT MORTGAGE PRE-QUALIFICATION
• FREE CREDIT REPORT AND CREDIT CONSULTATION
• Opportunity to preview homes from our inventory of 130 HOMES throughout the Brooklyn and Queens areas and speak to our team of Realtors that will be present at the work shop

To register, email Evantz Saint-Gerard at Evantz@yahoo.com or Yinery Martinez at LDCCH752@aol.com, or call 718-467-8800.

ATTENTION: Chase Bank Presents Homebuying Seminar

On February 8, 2011, Chase Bank will be hosting a free homebuying seminar. Topics to be discussed include--

-Preparing for bomeownership
-Affordable mortgage programs
-Questions and answers with mortgage specialists

WHEN: February 8, 2012
6:30PM- 8:00PM

WHERE: Bed-Stuy Restoration Plaza
1380 Fulton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11216

Seating is limited. Please RSVP at (718) 230-1284 by February 2.

Update: Food Stamp Replacement Benefits (Hurricane Irene)

If you are receiving food stamps and you have lost food that you purchased with your food stamp benefits, you can have the monetary value of that food replaced. New York State has made replacement food stamp benefits available for food stamp recipients who lost food during Hurricane Irene (due to flooding, power loss, etc.). In order to receive replacement benefits, your food loss must be reported within 10 days.



More information can be found at Food Bank NYC here: www.foodbanknyc.org/news/hurricane-irene-food-stamp-replacement-notice



The request form (LDSS-2291) must be completed. Please call Food Bank NYC at 212.894.8060 for further assistance.

ATTENTION: 35th District Lien Sale Outreach Session

The Office of Council Member Letitia James will be hosting a 35th District Lien Sale Outreach Session on Monday, July 18, 2011 at--

Benjamin Bannekar Academy
77 Clinton Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205

During the sale, unpaid water, sewer, and property tax debt will be sold by the City to private collection agencies, who are likely to impose heavy interest fees. You have until August 1, 2011 to settle your debt with the City and avoid the lien sale.

The outreach session is being sponsored by the NYC Department of Finance, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, who will be available to meet one-on-one.

Please be aware that some groups— such as veterans and seniors— may be exempt from the lien sale. Those individuals who are in exempted categories should fill out an “Exemption Eligibility Checklist”. For further information, please contact (212) 788-7081.

ATTENTION: 2011 NYC Lien Sale

Let’s Talk Lien Selling:
A lien sale is when the City sells debt to a private collector (known as a lien holder) who assumes the right to collect the debt, and move to foreclosure if owner remains in arrears. In a lien, the lienholder assumes the debt, not property. The lien sale is the City’s primary enforcement tool to collect delinquent debt owed by property owners

Property Tax Debt:
You are at risk if you own— a 1-3 unit residence, a condo/co-op, a small business with 1-2 residences, or vacant land zoned for residential use
-any of the above categories with minimum $1,000 in property taxes for 3+ years
You are at risk if you own— a 4+ units
-the above category with minimum $1,000 in property taxes for 1+ years

Water/Sewer Liens:
You are at risk if you own— a Tax Class 1 property other than a single-family residence
-the above category with minimum $2,000 in debt for 1+ years
You are at risk if you own— a Tax Class 2 multi-family home, a commercial property
-the above categories with minimum $1,000 in debt for 1+ years

Emergency Repair/ Alternative Enforcement Program:
You are at risk if you own— any property other than a 1-3 family residence
-the above category with minimum $1,000 in debt for 1+ years

All 1-3 unit properties will be excluded from the lien sale with the exception of non-owner-occupied 3-unit buildings in the Alternative Enforcement Program.

Property tax liens will NOT be sold on 1-3 family homes with the Veteran or Active Military Personnel Exemption; Senior Citizen Homeowner Exemption; Disabled Homeowner Exemption; or the Real Property Circuit Breaker Personal Income Tax Credit (PIT) for 2010.

Stats on At-Risk Properties:
-Total Eligible CityWide- 25, 937 (Brooklyn- 11,375)

Important Dates:
May 2- 90-Day Publication
May 3- 90-Day Mailing
June 1- 60-Day Mailing
July 1- 30-Day Mailing
July 22- 10-Day Publication & Mailing
August 1- Last Day to Pay

Customers can call 311 for questions related to the lien sale.

To be removed from the lien sale list, customers must either pay in full or enter into a payment agreement.
Department of Finance- for property and ERP/AEP debt
www.nyc.gov/liensale
For general lien sale inquiries:
(212) 504-4039
taxlien@finance.nyc.gov

Department of Environmental Protection- for water and sewer debt
www.nyc.gov/dep
(866) 622-8292
For general lien sale inquiries:
(718) 595-7000
ombuds@dep.nyc.gov

Housing Preservation and Development- for ERP/AEP debt
For general lien sale inquiries:
(212) 863-5300
taxlien@hpd.finance.gov

Lien Sale Outreach Dates:
Outreach sessions will be held in each borough from 5PM- 7PM.
Brooklyn’s session is—
July 28, 2011
Brooklyn Finance Business Center
210 Joralemon Street, 1st Floor
Please call Finance's Outreach Unit at 212-669-8745 for more information.

REMINDER: Chase Multi-Day Event To Help Struggling BK Homeowners

Chase Sets Up Five-Day Event in Brooklyn to Help Struggling Homeowners
Advisors will work face-to-face to help keep families in their homes

WHAT: Chase loan advisors will set up shop at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott for five days to help struggling homeowners find the best solution.

Homeowners with Chase mortgages can receive the following services:
-Initial counseling to apply for a mortgage modification
-Counseling for those who are current on their mortgage but are struggling
-Short-sale assistance for those who cannot afford their home or don't want to stay in it
-Document signing and drop-off for modifications
-Collection of outstanding documents for those on trial modifications
-On-site execution of final modification agreements for customers who have completed their modification application

WHO: Chase loan counselors will assist borrowers with a Chase, EMC or WaMu mortgage.

WHEN: Thursday, March 31- Monday, April 4; 8AM to 8PM

WHERE: The Brooklyn Bridge Marriott, Salon E-1, 333 Adams Street, Brooklyn
(Free parking at the Adams Street Garage next to the Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge; bring parking ticket to event)

HOW FAST: No appointments are necessary. Chase expects to sit down with most borrowers within 15 minutes of their arrival.

The event supplements Chase Homeownership Centers that help New York families every week, including locations at:

4 Chase Metrotech Center, Brooklyn, 718-242-2500 (open Monday-Saturday)

CM James Suggests Early Retirement Incentive for City Employees

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** March 30, 2011

Contact Amyre Loomis at (718) 260-9191

COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA JAMES SUGGESTS MAYOR BLOOMBERG RECONSIDER AN EARLY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE (ERI) FOR ALL CITY EMPLOYEES TO LOWER COSTS

(Brooklyn, NY) According to research and expert advice, I agree that a buyout or early retirement incentive is a tried and proven method to get salaried workers to voluntarily step aside, saving jobs of younger workers who can least afford to be out of work.

Simply put, it's the least painful way to reduce the work force. If Mayor Bloomberg is so adamantly opposed (at present, when he previously endorsed such a plan in 2002) to an early retirement incentive, let him release a detailed financial analysis as to why it is not viable option to be explored with the public and the unions. NYC employee's financial and emotional lives hang in the balance and all options should be aired openly and honestly to find the most effective way of dealing with the fiscal problems of today.

In a buyout, the rate of “back filling” or rehiring is the most crucial determinant for success or failure. At present, if a City worker leaves or retires the position or line is lost, there is no rehire, hence a shrinking workforce. Combined with hiring freezes controlled by the Mayor - who has strict governance over the city’s workforce and therefore payroll expenses - he could employ an early retirement incentive to maximize payroll savings, ASAP.

Unemployment insurance for up to 99 weeks for laid off workers, loss of city and state tax revenue, loss of health insurance for many families, possible foreclosures etc., as well as the emotional upheaval that ripples outward is a huge avoidable cost. This type of information (overall social cost) is rarely addressed when quantifying the overall success or failure of an early retirement incentive. For example, simple math - layoff teachers verses an early retirement incentive for all agencies: if you lay off 4,600 workers (teachers) and pay each unemployment insurance of $400 per week for 99 weeks that’s 400 x 4,600 = 1.84million x 99 weeks = a potential $182 million dollars. This does not include driving current and potential teachers from the profession, and the 4,600 former professional middle class New Yorkers who would join the expanding pool of the 9% unemployed.

In summary, an early retirement incentive would continue to reduce the City work force with immediate cost savings (rather than pension relief that would take decades to materialize and that the NYS Legislature appears reluctant to overturn), and have a lesser impact on career civil servants. It forces NYC agencies to do more with less, while negatively impacting society to a lesser degree, as opposed to sending thousands of workers into a very poor job market.

I ask the Bloomberg Administration to address this viable alternative and statistically explain the resistance to such a course of action. There appears no opposition from the workers, the unions, the City Council, the NYS Legislature - only the Mayor stands opposed.

###

ATTENTION: Comptroller John Liu Hosts Audit Info Event; 1/26; Prospect Heights

NYC Comptroller John Liu invites you to "The Power of an Audit: A Town Hall Meeting" to learn about the who, what, when, where, and why of audits.

WHEN: Wednesday, January 26, 2011
6:00PM- 8:00PM
Brooklyn Public Library
Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture
10 Grand Army Plaza (at Eastern Parkway)
Brooklyn, NY 11238

You can also share your ideas about audits to save the City money, increase revenues or improve agency efficiency, please see "Open Audit" here: http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/mymoneynyc/openaudit/

ATTENTION: EITC Awareness Day; 1/28/2011

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has designated Friday, January 28, 2011 as Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day. The goal of EITC Day is to increase public awareness of the EITC, which is a refundable credit for people who work but do not earn high incomes. It helps eligible taxpayers lower their taxes or receive funds. Both New York State and New York City have local versions of EITC. The IRS wants all eligible taxpayers to receive the EITC they deserve.

ATTENTION: CM Vann Hosts Water Bill Help Night; 12/8; 6PM: Boys and Girls HS

Council Member Al Vann is sponsoring a Water Bill Help Night

Join Council Member Vann, Coalition for the Improvement of Bed-Stuy (CIBS) and the NYC-DEP to get help with your NYC water bill.

WHEN: Wednesday, December 8, 2010
6PM- 8:30PM
WHERE: Boys and Girls High School
1700 Fulton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11213
(btwn Schenectady Avenue and Utica Avenue)


At the event you can:
· Discuss your water bill one on one with a DEP Customer Service Representative.
· Learn about other payment options.
· Learn about the Water Debt Assistance Program:
-Customers who meet the eligibility criteria can defer their unpaid water and sewer bill until the property is sold.
· Sign up for the direct debit program:
-Customers who enroll in the direct debit program will receive a 2% discount on their bill.
· Learn about Automated Meter Reading (AMR).

If you require additional information, please contact DEP at 718-595-7000 or visit DEP's website at nyc.gov/dep.