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Bronx is Burning Over Failed Deals
Crain’s New Business
August 16, 2009
Already, 3,200 units in dozens of affordable housing complexes have gone into foreclosure, an analysis by advocacy group Urban Homesteading Assistance Board shows....All told, the estimated debt load on the properties is $6 billion... See article
Fannie Mae Cancels Auction of Bronx Buildings
New York Times
August 7, 2009
See article
Fannie Mae Cancels Auction of Bronx Buildings
New York Times
August 7, 2009
See article
Tenants Stuck in Dilapidated Buildings as Landlords Flee
New York Daily News
July 28, 2009
See article
How to Structure a Good Purchase of Bad Debt
City Limits
July 27, 2009
See article
Schumer Urges Lender to Unload Bronx Buildings
NY 1 News
July 20, 2009
See video and story
Mortgage Crisis Hits Landlords, Tenants
ABC 7 Local
July 20, 2009
See video of broadcast
Bronx Buildings Dangerous to Tenants
Epoch Times
July 20, 2009
See article
Fannie Mae Urged to Abandon Bronx Auction
Crain’s New York Business
July 20, 2009
See article
Struggling Landlords Leave Repairs Undone
New York Times
July 14, 2009
“We are glad that Fannie Mae is working with H.P.D. on this serious issue,” said Dina Levy, director of organizing and policy for the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, which has been assisting Ocelot tenants. “However, Fannie Mae’s plan to sell the distressed debt through a Web auction opens the door for more speculation, more overleveraging and more suffering for tenants.”
See article
Flip This Project
Mother Jones
June, 2009
Available in print edition only. See PDF of article
Foreclosure Threat Looms Over Thousands of City Apartments
Gotham Gazette
June 22, 2009
See article
Seeking Fannie’s Help Before Conditions Worsen
City Limits
June 1, 2009
For most real estate speculators and investors, "they don't have to care about tenants, they don't have to care about affordable housing," says Dina Levy, director of organizing and policy for the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. "With Fannie Mae, that's not true. It's had a social mission since its inception." See article
View slideshow of conditions
City Hands Over East Village Building to Squatters
Gothamist
May 29, 2009
See article
Tenants hold Harlem Protest over Poor Conditions
WNYC Radio
May 28, 2009
See article
Tenants Target Fannie Mae for Upkeep Dollars
Crain’s New York Business
May 28, 2009
See article
Squatting Then and Now
Brian Lehrer Show – WNYC
May 27, 2009
Featured guest Andrew Reicher, executive director of Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. Listen here
Rally Tomorrow for Tenants Screwed or Abandoned by Fannie Mae
The Village Voice Runnin’ Scared Blog
May 27, 2009
See article
Space Invaders Pay Diddly Squat
NY Post
May 17, 2009
In 2002, the city made the controversial decision to sell Bullet Space and 10 other East Village "squats" -- including one where actress Rosario Dawson grew up -- for $1 each to a nonprofit housing group, the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. See article
No.1 with a Bullet
Curbed
May 12, 2009
See article
Bullet Space is the First of Former LES Squats to Take Ownership
EV Grieve
May 12, 2009
See article
Tenant Complaints on the Rise
The Bronx Beat
May 9, 2009
See article
Any Place Left for Middle Class Housing?
Downtown Express
May 1-7, 2009
Several housing advocates said the government should focus on lower-income residents first. “We are having to do triage to some extent,” said Dina Levy, director of organizing and policy at the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. “We have to stop the bleeding, then regroup.” See article
Tenants Bear Brunt of Private Equity Woes
The Bronx Beat
April 24, 2009
“The banks are complicit in this because they made the loans that allowed the predatory equity buyers to do this,” contended Dan Desloover, a housing advocate with the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. Desloover and other protesters rallied against New York Community Bank on April 14, in an attempt to persuade the bank to write down the debt on at least 700 Pinnacle-owned apartments. Bringing down the value of the mortgage, Desloover said, might prevent the buildings from foreclosure. See article
Bronx Tenants Fault Banks for
Shoddy Conditions
New York Times City Room Blog
April 15, 2009
“What is left out of the discussion is that they made some pretty heinous decisions that put a lot of tenants and buildings at risk,” said Dan DeSloover, an organizer from the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, which works with tenants. “They have not been made to feel the effects of the bad lending they have done.” See article
Pinnacle Portfolios Pulled from Broker Site
The Real Deal
April 13, 2009
"The bank thought they could get away with the sale with the loans intact. But the fact we were nosing around and getting tenants organized [made] them realize they could not do it," Dina Levy said. See article
Laurence Gluck's Shaky Foundation
Crain's New York Business
Jan. 31, 2009
See article
The Luck of Gluck
The Real Deal
December, 2008
...Larry Gluck - one of the city's most successful and experienced landlords - shocked the real estate world in August by informing his lenders that he was about to default... He's been "the number-one enemy of Mitchell-Lama in this city for a long time," said Dina Levy, director of policy for the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, a housing advocacy group... See article
13 Leaders Shaping 2013
New York Next
December, 2008
The State Legislature may pass a bill in the next few years to give NYC more authority over its own rent laws, in which case Dina Levy’s portfolio is going to get thick, very fast. See article
Schumer Seeks Protection for Apartment Buildings Facing Default
New York Times
Dec. 2, 2008
See article
Private Investors Squeeze Building Maintenance Costs
New York Times City Room Blog
Oct. 6, 2008
See article
Tenants Lose Battle to Preserve Morris Heights Housing Complex
NY 1
Oct.4, 2008
See article
At Hip Hop's birthplace: Hope for the best, preparations for the worst
Vibe blog zentronix d+h
Sept. 29, 2008
The judge's order allows the purchase of the building…despite an offer on the table from the tenants, the city, and supporters to purchase 1520 Sedgwick for $10 million - $3 million above the building's expected value…tenants and supporters of 1520 Sedgwick were baffled as to why the landlord group has apparently rejected the tenants' offer, which was supported by New York Senator Chuck Schumer and the city…”I can't believe that they would not take that deal," [Dina]Levy said. "It defies logic." See article
More city apartments facing foreclosure
Crain's New York Business
Sept. 28, 2008
Nobody knows precisely how many tenants are at risk, but advocates say a minimum of 580 buildings, containing 40,000 units, have one or more factors that could lead to default ... “If you want a Cadillac, buy a Cadillac,” says Dina Levy, project director of the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. “Don't buy a Chevy and try to turn it into a Cadillac." See article
Related Stories:
Bronx Pol Asks SEC to eye sale tactics for birthplace of Hip Hop
NY Daily News
Sept. 9, 2008
Rep. José Serrano (D-Bronx) fired off a recent letter to the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission urging an investigation into sales tactics surrounding the building at 1520 Sedgwick Ave. The Aug. 13 letter included a missive from the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) that detailed the trend of "predatory equity.” See article
Birthplace of Hip Hop
1520 Sedgewick Ave., Bronx, NY
August 11, 1973
It was 35 years ago when a cellar community room in the Bronx gave birth to a movement in music that resonates to this day.
Now the building that has been officially granted historic landmark status risks losing the very same affordable housing that enabled the musical and cultural revolution of hip hop.
Read about the plight of tenants, musicians, and advocates to preserve affordable housing at 1520 Sedgwick, the birthplace of hip hop. Learn More
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