Going into the final stretch of the 45th Council District special election, two candidates recently released their plans for saving Brooklynites their homes and getting them moving.
The district includes Flatbush, East Flatbush, Flatlands, Midwood and Canarsie.
Jovia Radix, one of the youngest candidates and women still left in the race last week announced a detailed plan to prevent Third Party Transfer (TPT) fraud and to protect hardworking homeowners from illegal evictions.
Radix’s plan begins with hosting informational seminars throughout communities to inform the public of scams targeting homeowners. These seminars will focus on educating homeowners to help them combat these scams.
While elected officials investigate the City Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (NYC HPD) Third Party Transfer Program, the next step in Radix’s plan is to analyze the implementation of proposed ideas and policies to ensure they will actually help residents. Finally, if these policies are found insufficient in significantly protecting residents, Radix plans to pass protections through legislation which ensures deed theft is aggressively combated and penalties for fraud are substantially increased.
“Far too often in Brooklyn, hardworking New Yorkers lose their homes to third party transfer and mortgage foreclosure fraud—and this scam is ravaging our communities and affecting those most vulnerable. It is time we investigate, give the public the information they need to combat these scams and crack down on deed fraud, mortgage disclosures and third party transfers,” said Radix.
Just a month ago, in a sweeping decision, Kings County Supreme Court Judge Mark Partnow ruled that the City of New York violated the U. S. Constitution in the seizure of six central Brooklyn properties, and ordered the city to give them back to their owners, restoring millions of dollars of intergenerational wealth in the black and Latino community.
The city attempted to take all the properties under the TPT program, which allows the city to foreclose on homes that have outstanding bills or are in disrepair. The foreclosed homes are then sold to developers for small fees. In recent months, reports of internal fraud and illegal action have become routine in regards to the Third Party Transfer program.
KCP’s has been chronicling the ongoing issues with the controversial housing program, including a current $66 million class-action civil lawsuit still in court.
Meanwhile, L. Rickie Tulloch, a longtime community activist and one of eight candidates vying to replace the seat left open by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, this week outlined his transit priorities to help keep residents in the district moving.
The 45th council district has a high population of car drivers, according to statistics from the NYC Economic Development Corp (NYC EDC), about 60 percent households own a car. The district also has a history of transportation struggles including a battle against a B82 Select Bus Service (SBS) stop along one of the district’s main traffic corridors, Kings Highway.
“Our district is a transit desert — there is limited subway access so most people depend on buses or cars to get to work, school, the doctor, and to visit family. While fixing subway service remains a major talking point, we also need more reliable and increased bus service and elevators to make the subway stations in our district accessible to everyone,” said Tulloch.
Specific highlights under Tulloch’s plan include:
- Increasing bus service in the outer boroughs with increased frequency and efficiency of service.
- Improving accessibility at subway stations, specifically at the Newkirk Avenue and Beverly Road B/Q Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) stations.
- Reducing four days-a-week alternate side parking to two days-a-week, with the aim of reducing steep fines paid by local residents forced to move cars frequently
“Because of our unreliable public transit, many people in our district must rely on cars to get around. Since my days on Community Board 17, I have fought back against four-days-a-week alternate side parking. It’s a major inconvenience and causes increased fines and ticketing for local residents,” added Tulloch.
While Tulloch and Radix rolled out policy initiatives, Monique Chandler-Waterman continues to rack up endorsements, today adding to the list is Amplify Her, a New York City-wide grassroots political organization that works to amplify progressive women’s campaigns in all five boroughs.
The endorsement comes after both a standing-room-only public forum for all five women city council candidates presented by Amplify Her on Tuesday, April 23 at the New Women Space in Brooklyn, as well as an internal
endorsement vote among the Amplify Her membership.
“Monique Chandler-Waterman truly embodies the values of Amplify Her. Monique has dedicated her life to progressive activism, focusing her work on helping at-risk children and empowering women. Monique is already a trusted leader in her community and undoubtedly will be a strong, independent voice in New York City Council,” said Amplify Her president Marti Speranza Wong.
The organization cites Chandler-Waterman’s work in the community opening a 24-hour daycare, establishing the nonprofit East Flatbush Village, and leading Occupy The Corner interventions, as the basis for their endorsement.
In issuing its endorsement, Amplify Her will now look to help capture votes for Chandler-Waterman, serving as boots on the ground for the front-runner’s campaign. According to Amplify Her, the organization will hold daily canvassing shifts to help supplement Chandler-Waterman’s already strong district field operation.
“I am proud and honored to be endorsed by the phenomenal women of Amplify Her. I am a great admirer of their work, and their mission. With only 11 out of 51 New York City Council seats currently being held by women, this is a critical moment as we build towards greater representation in city government for women. As such, I believe I owe it to the many women whose struggles have paved the way for me to have this awesome opportunity to endeavor to be a vital voice for all women in the 45th Council District, and beyond,” said Chandler-Waterman.
The special election for the 45th Council District is on Tuesday, May 14.
