Right to the City

Edward DeMarco may want to be late for dinner.

About 150 protestors plan to gather in front of DeMarco's Maryland home this afternoon to hand a pink slip to the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Calling themselves the "Fannie Freddie 99 fighters," the protestors plan to "fire" DeMarco for his continuing resistance to principal forgiveness for loans backed by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They intend to make "demands" that include "properly considering homeowners for permanent affordable loan modifications" and "offering foreclosed properties to former owners and/or local non-profits at value rather than selling to hedge funds," according to a press release.

The protest follows another demonstration that took place Thursday morning in front of Fannie's Washington, D.C. office. That event, which disrupted traffic on one of Washington's main traffic arteries for about 30 minutes, culminated in the arrest of five people for refusing to get out of the road.

It's not clear what effect the DeMarco protest might have other than enraging his neighbors in the Washington suburb of Silver Spring, who will no doubt resent yet another demonstration interfering with their commute. The object of attention -- DeMarco -- is unlikely to be home at 5 p.m. (This may be a government town, but most top officials don't work 9-to-5 hours.)

Still, it may help to keep pressure on DeMarco, whose intransigence is keeping millions of homeowners from potential relief that would enable them to keep their homes. About 4 million of the loans backed by Fannie and Freddie are "underwater," meaning the mortgages are worth more than the home. As Bloomberg View has written, cutting a chunk of the outstanding principal could go a long way toward restoring equity in those homes and preventing another wave of foreclosures.

One person whose home is not underwater is DeMarco. According to Maryland property records, DeMarco bought his three-bedroom, split-level brick home in 1992 for $230,000. It was most recently assessed at $424,020.

DeMarco could no doubt increase the value of his home -- and many others -- by allowing principal forgiveness, since more foreclosures will only further depress home prices. True, the housing market is showing signs of life but it's not out of the woods. Helping restore equity for people who need a little help to stay in their homes would be a lot more fun for DeMarco than sleeping at the office.

(Deborah Solomon is a member of the Bloomberg View editorial board. Follow her on Twitter.)

Read full story at Bloomberg.com

WASHINGTON - A D.C. protest that was calm and peaceful took a turn just after 11 a.m. Thursday when the group moved into the street, blocking Wisconsin Avenue in both directions for about a half hour.

Wisconsin Avenue reopened at 11:40 a.m. after police moved protesters out of the street.

Metropolitan Police arrested five women who were given three warnings to move out of the street, where the group was blocking traffic. During that time, traffic was unable to pass in either on Wisconsin between Porter and Van Ness streets in Northwest.

The group was comprised of more than 100 adults and children, who were protesting against foreclosures.

Dozens of protesters were holding signs attempting to tell the story of individuals and families who have been foreclosed upon. There was even a person dressed as a vampire.

The group began marching down Wisconsin Avenue behind a sign that read "Stand Together Stop Foreclosures." They say they are glad they caused a disruption and hope executives at Fannie Mae take notice.

Read the full article on WTOP's website here.

WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- Part of Wisconsin Avenue NW in D.C. was closed to traffic during a protest at Fannie Mae headquarters. Several of the protesters were arrested on Thursday afternoon.

According to a press release on Thursday, the protesters included "residents of foreclosed buildings, homeowners, and families" who call themselves the "Fannie Freddie 99 fighters." The protesters reportedly wanted "an end to Fannie/Freddie evictions and concrete solutions to keep people in their homes."

READ: More info on the Fannie Freddie 99

Another protest is scheduled later on Thursday in Silver Spring, Md.  at the home of FHFA Acting Director Ed DeMarco. There, protestors are expected to deliver a pink slip to DeMarco.

Click HERE to read the article on WUSA website

WASHINGTON (CBSDC) - Unruly protesters forced the Metro Police Department’s hand by blocking a major roadway outside the Fannie Mae headquarters in D.C.

Metro police put five protesters in handcuffs for blocking Wisconsin Avenue in front of the Fannie Mae headquarters in Tenleytown, where dozens of people have been gathered for hours protesting foreclosures...

Click HERE to read the full article.

Our recent LA Congress was a huge success. Over 150 delegates attended the Congress, including RTC member delegates from across the country, reps from allied organizations, LA community members, unions, and resource allies. Over two days we exchanged organizing models, educated each other on the political conditions in LA and around the country and movement strategies needed to build the cities of our dreams, and we mobilized in the streets fighting to save our homes from Fannie Maw and putting an end to the MTA's  transit development that displaces low income families and destroys neighborhoods.

To learn more about what happened at the LA Congress, watch these fantastic video recaps of each day! Hope you can join us at future congresses!

VIDEOS:

Day 1 Recap:

Day 2 Recap:

DISCUSSION & PANEL WITH PROFESSOR DAVID HARVEY:

A major highlight of our recent Urban Congress in LA was a special discussion and panel with esteemed scholar   and author of Rebel Cities: from Right to the City to Revolution, Professor David Harvey. The panel also featured Right to the City founders Gihan Perera, Gilda Haas, and Leonardo Vilchis as well as Florian Hohenstatt from Right to the City Hamburg, Germany. The discussion focused on the fight for urban democracy in the US and abroad, questions regarding movement strategy, and analysis of the current conditions of cities and urban communities. You can watch the full panel on our UStream channel at the link below.

Watch the video of David Harvey & RTC founders' panel HERE - panel begins at approx 30 minutes:
Video streaming by Ustream

Check out photos here

Once again, federal authorities have admonished the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) for breaking the rules protecting the civil rights of minority passengers when it cut services.

Peter Rogoff, chief of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), sent the MTA a letter saying he is especially concerned, since the agency "should be well familiar with the requirements" regarding civil rights because of years of litigation, including a previous consent decree. We all have the same concern, without knowing whether what happened was caused by incompetence, apathy or bad intentions.

What is certain is that the FTA found that the MTA did not analyze the impact of its bus route changes and cuts on minority passengers as Title VI requires. Rogoff also mentioned that only by conducting a review can the impact on minorities be determined. The MTA implemented changes and cut more than 650,000 hours of service without knowing the impact it would have on riders.

The content of the letter is a concrete example of MTA's irresponsible attitude in making decisions about cuts based on route profitability and ignoring its mission as a public bus transportation agency in a city like Los Angeles.

We think MTA's officials should pay more attention to complying with federal regulations that protect the majority of its riders in Los Angeles from discrimination, rather than disregarding this aspect and focusing solely on profitability.

Federal authorities are now demanding that the MTA review the changes implemented from December 2009 to June 2011 to determine whether they have had an unfair impact on riders. Will the MTA finally fulfill its duties?

Unfortunately, the MTA has zero credibility when it comes to serving its minority customers. The members of the MTA Board of Directors, which is made up of top local and county officials, have that same lack of credibility.

The FTA gave the MTA an opportunity to correct itself. We wouldn't have done this until Rogoff's question is answered. Why wasn't the required impact analysis review done, if the MTA was aware it was necessary after several years of civil rights issues with its passengers?

More than 200 protesters march from downtown to Boyle Heights in a show of frustration over some Metro projects, which displaced residents of affordable housing.

About 200 protesters march through Union Station in downtown L.A. demanding more community involvement in Metro’s management and development of property along transit lines. A key concern among demonstrators was affordable housing. (Luis Sinco, Los Angeles Times / September 13, 2012

By Ari Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times

Published in The Real Deal

In the wake of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s disclosure of a plan to help minimize banks’ risks of buying back bad mortgages, three housing non-profits are planning a rally tomorrow outside Freddie Mac’s Midtown office to demand changes to federal foreclosure policies.

New Yorkers affected by foreclosures are planning to march from Bryant Park to Freddie Mac’s regional headquarters at 122 East 42nd Street, between Lexington and Park avenues, to demand that President Barack Obama reform the government-sponsored entity and its counterpart Fannie Mae, which the organizers hold responsible for more foreclosures than any other bank.

Anti-gentrification non-profit Right to the City, along with Occupy Our Homes and Home Defenders League, are behind the protest, and expect hundreds of individuals to participate.

The groups are seeking an immediate halt to foreclosures and evictions and the removal of Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Ed DeMarco. They have also asked President Obama to force Fannie and Freddie to accept rent from residents and offer foreclosed properties to former owners or local non-profits.

The rally will kick off Sept. 12 at noon. – Leigh Kamping-Carder

Published in In These Times

By Rebecca Burns

As Senate Democrats this week introduced a bill they say would help struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages, housing activists launched a campaign highlighting the reasons that such aid has so far proven ineffective. “Take Back the Peoples’ Bank,” spearheaded by the Right to the City Alliance, takes aim squarely at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, twhich have repeatedly refused to reduce the principal owed by underwater homeowners. Because the government-sponsored mortgage giants collectively control about half of all home loans, organizers have singled them out as a chief barrier to ending the foreclosure crisis.

Demonstrations are being held nationwide this week at the regional offices of Fannie and Freddie. Ninety-nine homeowners from across the country, calling themselves the “Fannie Freddie 99” are traveling to Chicago, Atlanta, LA and New York. The coalition of groups is calling on Fannie and Freddie to grant principal reduction on underwater mortgages and to allow foreclosed homeowners to remain in their properties, either as renters or by purchasing homes at their real value. The campaign also demands that Fannie and Freddie end the controversial practice of selling off large pools of vacant property to private firms at discounted rates.

At a protest in Chicago on Tuesday, activists from regional housing rights groups carried mops and brooms and called on Fannie and Freddie to “clean house”—for starters, by meeting with customers whose mortgages it backs. Families in foreclosure made it into the lobby of Freddie Mac, but regional director John Lucas, Jr. refused a request to meet with them. Instead, homeowners who had traveled from Detroit and Minneapolis gathered outside the building and told their stories.

Alejandra Cruz says that her family’s trouble started when PNC Bank, their mortgage servicer, failed to process an online payment correctly. When the Cruz family was unable to afford the two months of payment demanded as penalty, they fell into foreclosure, and Freddie Mac eventually bought their home in a sheriff’s sale. Alejandra and her brother David were last outside Freddie’s Chicago offices in June as they traveled with a caravan of supporters to PNC’s Pittsburgh headquarters in Pittsburgh to demand a meeting.

Now, after months of negotiations, Alejandra claims that Freddie Mac is all that is standing in the way of getting her home back. Occupy Homes MN, which has been working with the Cruz family, says that PNC Bank is willing to offer a loan modification, but is unable to due to Freddie’s policy against selling a foreclosed home back to its original owner.

“This is not only our problem, it’s an issue that is impacting families across the nation,” said Cruz. Fannie and Freddie have received more than $150 billion in taxpayer funding to remain solvent, and activists argue that as tax payer-owned entities they should be more willing to pursue policies that benefit homeowners. Instead, housing organizers charge, their practices are worse than those of private banks.

Lucinda Adams Vinje, another homeowner from Minnesota, says that she only learned that Freddie Mac had purchased her home when its name appeared on her eviction papers last month. Vinje first went into foreclosure in the spring of 2011, when she and her husband, a Vietnam veteran, were struggling to choose between “paying the mortgage or paying all the other bills that were piling up.” Though she says she was in the process of applying for a loan modification, her home was foreclosed on and sold in May. Vinje claims she was told that U.S. Bank, the mortgage servicer, had purchased the home from itself, and that trying to contact them “basically ate up” the three-month period in which she could have legally reclaimed the property.

“I’m here today because Freddie Mac hid behind U.S. Bank to steal my home,” Vinje told In These Times. “And now I want it back.”

According to Occupy Homes MN, the Vinjes today won a temporary restraining order that will halt Freddie Mac’s eviction action. But housing rights activists say that are continuing to build a "national movement to clean up the dirty policies of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." A convergence in Washington, DC is planned for September 27.