October
2019
3
The City: Debt Collectors Put Translations On Hold, Foiling Immigrants
The City — When a debt collector called Alba Ramirez, she had no idea who was on the other line or what the person wanted.
In the News
September
2019
13
Daily News: A Dangerous IDNYC Overhaul: Don’t Equip This Card with Financial Technology Chips
Daily News, op-ed by Carlos Menchaca, Betsy Plum, Natalia Aristizabal, and Deyanira Del Rio — As the first batch of New York City’s municipal ID cards nears expiration, Mayor de Blasio is pursuing a dangerous plan that would fundamentally change the program and put New Yorkers at needless and potentially serious risk.
September
2019
12
The City: City’s IDNYC Smart Card Chip Plan Slammed As Security Risk
The City — Pushback against adding a banking chip to new IDNYC cards intensified Thursday, with a demand from immigration, civil liberties and consumer groups to scrap the effort and introduction of a City Council bill to block it.
August
2019
7
Washington Post: Zombie Debt: How Collectors Trick Consumers Into Reviving Dead Debts
Washington Post — By last year, Terrie Raymer thought she was in the clear. A nearly $14,000 credit card debt she owed Target was now so old under Oklahoma’s laws that she could no longer be sued to collect the money. It was a relief, and Raymer began making plans to restart her life, including buying a new home.
July
2019
23
Consumer Reports: How to Stop Harassment for Debts You Don’t Owe
Consumer Reports — As a Type 1 diabetic, Sarah Stark expects to have to cope with a lot of medical bills. But one hassle that’s taken her by surprise is dealing with debt collectors. Earlier this year, she says, a debt collector claimed she owed a medical bill that she had already paid.
July
2019
22
Queens Daily Eagle: Are Community Land Trusts ‘the future of New York City’?
Queens Daily Eagle — A new housing wave may soon hit the Rockaways, and Councilmember Donovan Richards, who represents the area, wants to make sure that it doesn’t wipe out ordinary New Yorkers and low-income families.
June
2019
26
Fast Company: The One Strategy that Could Finance the Whole Green New Deal
Fast Company — For the latter half of 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux and activist allies from all over the country camped out in North Dakota to protest the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which was likely to harm their native lands through an invasive engineering process and inevitable oil spills.
June
2019
18
Curbed NY: Community Land Trusts Score Crucial Funds in City Budget
Curbed NY — The latest city budget includes $750,000 to grow an underutilized housing model that creates affordable homes in rapidly gentrifying communities—a major win for housing advocates.
June
2019
3
City Limits: Budget Could Boost City’s Nascent Community Land Trust Movement
City Limits — Over a dozen stakeholders and community-based organizations along with a group of elected officials are seeking monetary support for an initiative to help community land trusts get going or hit stride.
May
2019
16
Community Groups, Housing Activists, and Electeds Call on NYC to Take Bold Action to Tackle The Housing Crisis by Supporting Community Land Trusts
Dozens of community land trust (CLT) organizers, supporters, and community members rallied this morning at City Hall, urging the NYC Council to support a new funding initiative to incubate and expand CLTs in all five NYC boroughs. The proposed initiative, championed by Council Members Donovan Richards and Carlina Rivera, comes at a critical moment, as more than a dozen CLTs are taking root in the South and Northwest Bronx, East Harlem, Brownsville, Jackson Heights, and beyond, to curb displacement and advance community-led development.