May
2020
1
The City — As the coronavirus crisis unfolded in New York, Robert McNamara thought he should take some money out of the bank, just to be safe.
On March 19, the substitute teacher and father of two figured he’d be out of work for a while. Public schools had just closed, possibly for the rest of the spring. Plus, with big swings on the stock market, he wanted a bit of cash on hand.
April
2020
28
Law 360 — As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to envelop the country, some consumer advocates are calling for greater protections for consumers until the crisis abates, arguing that the economic crisis is negatively impacting the ability of Americans to not only pay their debts but also fight collection actions in court.
April
2020
22
ProPublica — Late last month, Kim Boatswain sat down at her computer in her southeast Austin home and logged into her credit union account. Her bills and mortgage were coming due soon, and she needed to move money from her savings to checking so she could pay them.
April
2020
16
CBS News — The U.S. Treasury is sending out 80 million stimulus checks this week, the first part of its effort to put cash into Americans’ hands to ride out the coronavirus pandemic. But many of those checks will never reach the people they’re intended for.
April
2020
16
Gothamist — The $1,200 stimulus checks that began hitting millions of Americans’ bank accounts on Wednesday could turn into a “backdoor bailout” for banks and creditors—which can currently seize the payments for individuals’ existing debt under a loophole the Treasury Department has not yet addressed.
April
2020
14
Daily News, Op-Ed — In the best of times, predatory debt collection is a scourge that siphons wealth from New Yorkers, destabilizes neighborhoods and perpetuates racial and economic inequality. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing debt collectors to continue to hound New Yorkers and take their money is jeopardizing people’s lives.
April
2020
13
Daily News — At a time when millions of freshly jobless people are practicing emergency economic triage, debt collectors continue to chase judgments and seek to freeze bank accounts of those they say are in default. This is madness.
March
2020
23
The City — New Yorkers facing down private debts in court will see some relief after advocates pushed Gov. Andrew Cuomo to put all collections on pause amid the coronavirus crisis.
March
2020
21
The City — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has paused the collection of medical and student debt owed to New York State, ordered evictions halted and put a 90-day stay on mortgage payments and foreclosures for owners facing financial hardship.
March
2020
12
Daily News — Families and businesses in southeast Queens are being shunned by the banking system, possibly in violation of federal law. And that makes Rep. Gregory Meeks furious.