REMARKS
Council Member Julie Menin discusses financial empowerment and deed theft prevention
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136 sec
Council Member Julie Menin, chair of the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection, discusses the importance of financial empowerment and the prevention of deed theft in New York City. She highlights the work of the Office of Financial Empowerment and introduces legislation aimed at protecting homeowners from fraud.
- Emphasizes the devastating impact of deed theft, particularly on retirees and those with fixed incomes
- Introduces Intro 901, which would require the Office of Financial Empowerment to provide support and counseling to homeowners
- Expresses interest in hearing from agencies about their efforts to educate homeowners and prevent deed theft
Julie Menin
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Thank you so much, chair Hudson.
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I'm Julie Menon, chair of the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection, Helping New Yorkers navigate through financial crisis and build long term financial stability is such an important component of advancing equity and building wealth in our city.
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The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection's Office of Financial Empowerment works to educate, to empower, and to protect individuals and families with low incomes.
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When I served as commissioner of that agency, we launched a public awareness campaign to inform New Yorkers about the free 1 on 1 professional financial counseling available to residents to take control of their debt and to plan for their future.
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For many New Yorkers, their home is quite frankly their greatest financial asset.
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Unfortunately, scammers seek out financially vulnerable homeowners to fraudulently take ownership of their property.
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As council member Hudson emphasized, deed theft is particularly catastrophic for retirees or those on fixed incomes, often leaving victims without resources to secure alternative housing in the city's highly competitive housing market.
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It's critical that homeowners are educated about how to protect their assets and how to identify deed theft scams.
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I look forward to hearing from the agencies before us today regarding the steps that they are taking to educate homeowners and prevent the tragedy of deed theft before it occurs, as well as how they're responding when New Yorkers come to them as victims of deed fraud.
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Along with council member Hudson's bill, intro 888, we are also hearing intro 901 sponsored by council member Riley.
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This bill would require the Office of Financial Empowerment in coordination with the Office of the Homeowner Advocate to provide support and counseling to homeowners and their heirs to protect their assets, including financial planning, mortgage count mortgage counseling, and scam prevention.
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I look forward to robust discussion about these bills, and I'll now hand it back over to council member Hudson.
Crystal Hudson
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Thank you so much.
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I'd like to add that we've also been joined by council members Brewer and Lee.
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I'd now like to turn it over to the public advocate to deliver opening remarks.
