Senate Passes Legislation to Help Homeowners and Veterans

Senator Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) announced the passage of two new pieces of legislation - one aimed at helping veterans who are budding entrepreneurs and another for homeowners struggling due to the recession.

Addabbo, who is a member of the Senate Veterans Committee, said the first legislation will aid veterans who desire to own businesses in their community.

“This new law will increase meaningful participation of veterans in starting and maintaining a business in New York State.” he said. “Due to medical advances and technology, many veterans with injuries have been able to play active roles in their communities.”

Under the legislation, the Division of Veterans Affairs would be required to provide veterans with resources to aid in entrepreneurship in conjunction with the NYS Small Business Development Center.

The second legislation gives homeowners facing foreclosure the right to take action against lenders who fail to “meet the obligation of entering into a good faith agreements during settlement negotiations.”

“No community is immune from being a victim of foreclosures,” Addabbo said. “I am hopeful that this bill will provide the much needed, common sense protection many people seek from unfortunate, and sometimes unintended, financial situations.”

According to a study conducted by the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, of the nearly 800 settlement conferences they studied in 2009 in New York City courts, only three percent resulted in any kind of settlement.

Under the legislation, during a settlement conference, lenders would be required to appear with authority to execute a settlement with the homeowner, negotiate in good faith and meet any deadline for the production of documents or evidence.
The new legislation also outlines penalties for lenders who fail to meet the requirements. After the second time a lender fails, a homeowner automatically makes a motion for an order to dismiss the foreclosure action, unless they waive their right in writing. After the third time, the court grants the defendant’s motion unless the lender can show good cause.

Queens has been hit particularly hard with foreclosures since the recession began. According to the senator’s office, within his district, Woodhaven had one of the highest foreclosure rates.

“Lowering the alarming rate of foreclosures and helping families in Queens to save their homes and even their communities remain priorities for me in order to build the foundation for a lasting, sustainable economic recovery,” said Addabbo.

Legislation regarding veterans has been sent to the Governor for approval and the bill geared towards homeowners has been sent to the Assembly for approval.

Gillibrand Announces Proposed Anti-Gang Legislation

The Forum

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in a conference call Tuesday emphasized the need to crackdown on gang activity as a way to curb substance abuse and violence throughout New York.

“We can never allow the lure of gangs to surpass opportunities for our children to grow and achieve their full potential,” Senator Gillibrand said. “Too many communities are seeing increasing gang activity and the violent crime that comes with it. It’s time to fight back with better resources for our law enforcement, tougher penalties to lock up offenders, positive role models to guide our children to success, and unite communities to keep our families safe.”

According to statistics provided by the Senator, there are more than 22,000 gang members in New York City with more than 670,000 suffering from substance abuse as a result of gang trafficking. It is estimated that there are between 2,500 and 3,499 gang members in Queens.

In an effort to help combat the issue Gillibrand is introducing legislation which she says would combat gang activity, keep at-risk youth out of gangs, and keep our communities safe and economy growing.

On Long Island, there are as many as 5,000 gang members and more than 335,000 people suffering from substance abuse fueled in part by gangs trafficking drugs.

Gillibrand is cosponsoring the Youth PROMISE Act, aimed at preventing children from joining gangs through policy development.

In addition to prevention, Gillibrand said it is also important to have access to youth mentoring and is cosponsoring the JUMP Act. It would also authorize the Department of Justice to continue funding for quality mentoring services. The program implements one-on-one mentoring between responsible adults and youth.

While, reaching youth is important. Gillibrand is also hoping to give law enforcement agencies more resources to combat gang related crime. Co-sponsoring the Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2009, the legislation creates tougher penalties for gang related offenses in addition to authorizing the Attorney General to expand the Project Safe Neighborhoods Program and the Safe Streets Program.

A media campaign would also be launched to help inform people on the dangers of heroine.

Gillibrand is also working to restore funding cuts to state grants administered through the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools that were eliminated in budget cuts.