REMARKS
Council Members share personal experiences with predatory solicitations
1:08:58
·
162 sec
Council Members Hudson and Ossé share personal experiences with predatory solicitations, emphasizing the impact on vulnerable populations and the urgency of addressing the issue.
- Council Member Hudson recalls receiving solicitations to sell her mother's house immediately after her mother's death
- She expresses concern for vulnerable individuals, such as those with Alzheimer's, who may not have someone to protect them from scams
- The Council Members emphasize their passion for helping constituents, neighbors, and all New Yorkers prevent falling victim to these frauds
- They stress the importance of being proactive rather than reactive in addressing deed theft
- Council Member Hudson asks the agency representatives to help identify ways to strengthen laws and prevent people from falling prey to these scams
Crystal Hudson
1:08:58
Agreed.
1:08:58
I think this is also a good project for the cabinet, for all the agencies when they come together to address this.
1:09:04
And and just to sort of piggyback or reiterate what council member Osei was saying, This is you know, we're all here because we're passionate about this.
1:09:13
This topic, this hearing topic didn't just come out of thin air.
1:09:16
Mhmm.
1:09:17
As chair Menon mentioned, I cared for my mother who had Alzheimer's disease.
1:09:20
I remember the day after my mother died.
1:09:23
I got phone calls and text messages from people asking if I wanted to sell the house.
1:09:28
This is stuff that I'm still getting solicitations for, people who are not even checking the death records to know already that my mother has passed.
1:09:35
We were getting letters and for somebody who, like my mother, had Alzheimer's disease, if I wasn't in the house with her, to know that letters were being sent to her that were literally predatory letters encouraging her to sell, not even asking her if she wanted to sell, but encouraging her to to sell, giving her a phone number to call to sell, and I worry about people who don't have somebody else in the household with them to help protect them or prevent them from falling victim to these types of frauds and scams.
1:10:04
So I think what you're hearing, and I know and and we appreciate that you're not taking offense to it, but what you're hearing is just our passion, for trying to help our family members, our constituents, our neighbors, and all New Yorkers to try to figure out how do we actually prevent this from happening.
1:10:19
I recognize that you are a ministerial agency and so you're you're limited in some of what you can do, but tell us what you think other city agencies should or could be doing to help prevent this.
1:10:31
Tell us what the state could be doing more so that we can help advocate on everyone's behalf to make to to make these laws stronger and then also to help prevent people from falling into it.
1:10:40
Because as we've all seen, once somebody falls victim or prey to these types of frauds and scams, it's already essentially too late.
Colette McCain-Jacques
1:10:48
Yep.
Crystal Hudson
1:10:49
And then we have to spend all of our resources and as government to help our constituents in trying to get back what is theirs.
1:10:59
And so, you know, it's we're we're just trying to figure out how can we help prevent a lot of this happening as opposed to, you know, on the back end exactly.
1:11:09
How can we be proactive as opposed to reactive?
1:11:12
And and and we want you to help us in trying to figure out exactly.
1:11:15
And and I think you are best equipped to do that because you see it all the time.
1:11:21
And I do wanna just ask one question based off of, your answer.
1:11:24
You mentioned, you know, when people come come to your office and they say, you know, that they've experienced this, what is the process?
1:11:32
Can you walk us through?
1:11:33
Who do you connect them to?
1:11:35
Who do you refer them to?
1:11:36
What do you tell them?
1:11:37
Are there resources that you can provide to them?
