financial justice

December

2020

9

Testimony Before the NYC Council Committee on Finance, on Reauthorization of the NYC Tax Lien Sale

We urge the Council not to introduce legislation reauthorizing the tax lien sale, and work with community partners, including community land trusts (CLTs), to develop an alternative and equitable system to address property tax arrears and, when appropriate, property disposition. The City’s practice of selling municipal debt to a private, investor-backed trust fuels speculation and displacement in Black and brown neighborhoods, siphoning wealth from communities disproportionately harmed by historic inequities like redlining and disinvestment, and now hardest hit by COVID-19…

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November

2020

30

Commodifying Our Communities: The Case for Abolishing NYC’s Tax Lien Sale and Prioritizing CLTs in a New Tax Collection and Property Disposition System

Report Cover

This memo, prepared with partners at the New York City Community Land Initiative, City College of New York, and TakeRoot Justice, provides a brief introduction to CLTs and proposes alternatives to the lien sale that prioritize CLTs, in partnership with mission-driven, nonprofit developers, as both resources for vulnerable homeowners and recipients of foreclosed properties.

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November

2020

18

Letter to Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Johnson, Opposing Reauthorization of NYC’s Lien Sale for Property Tax, Water and Other Municipal Debts

[Download PDF] November 18, 2020 NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio City Hall New York, NY 10007 NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson City Hall New York, NY 10007 Re: Not Reauthorizing NYC Lien Sale for Property Tax, Water and Other Municipal Debts Dear NYC Mayor de Blasio and Council Speaker Johnson, We write to you today […]

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September

2020

30

Fortune: What the Unbanked Need From the 2020 Election

Fortune — Over 6% of Americans—20.5 million people—are unbanked, according to the FDIC’s latest data, meaning they have no checking or savings account. Nearly 50 million more are underbanked: They have at least one bank account but still use alternative financial services like payday loans and check cashers outside the banking system. 

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August

2020

28

Stop Trump Administration from Unleashing Predatory Payday Lending in NY

New York has successfully fought to keep predatory payday lending out of our state, as a matter of racial and economic justice. Now, the Trump administration is seeking to gut New York’s longstanding consumer protection laws, and open the door to high-cost lenders that exploit people who are struggling financially.

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May

2020

28

Sign-On Letter Urging NYS to Keep Proceeds from the Stock Transfer Tax to Help Maintain Funding for State Services

Protecting New York’s essential workers will be vital to the state’s recovery, yet they are disproportionately burdened by the impact of the pandemic. At a time when the risk is not being shared equally, why should those currently bearing the biggest load of keeping society together take the biggest budgetary hit? Instead of placing the burden of New York State’s economic recovery on the backs of working New Yorkers, it is only reasonable to ask those who benefit from Wall Street speculation to pay their fair share.

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May

2020

1

The City: Debt Collectors Freeze Funds of New Yorkers Struggling in Pandemic

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.

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