PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Bruno Daniel, Director of Community Affairs from Brooklyn Borough President's Office on Deed Theft
1:51:04
·
3 min
Bruno Daniel, representing Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, addressed the pressing issue of deed theft in Brooklyn, particularly affecting older adult homeowners in central and eastern parts of the borough. He emphasized the importance of homeownership for building wealth and highlighted the targeting of black and brown communities by scammers.
- Outlined common scams: refinancing scams, equity stripping, and foreclosure bailout loans
- Advocated for extending the statute of limitations on prosecutions and expanding access to legal services
- Proposed creating a tangled title fund model based on Philadelphia's program to provide financial support for homeowners resolving ownership issues
Bruno Daniel
1:51:04
Good afternoon.
1:51:05
Chairs Hudson and men and the members of the committee, and thank you for holding this hearing today.
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I'm here representing Brooklyn borough president Antonio Reynoso.
1:51:13
Deep theft is a pressing issue in Brooklyn, especially for older adult homeowners in the central and eastern parts of the borough.
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Homeownership is one of the most important pathways to building and sustaining wealth.
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When deep theft scammers target these communities, they're trying to displace their neighbors and lock black and brown communities out of homes that they've had for generations.
1:51:32
Last month, our office held a workshop at Medgar Evers College with Brooklyn Legal Services and Grow, Brooklyn to educate homeowners on their rights and how to avoid scams.
1:51:41
According to BLS, the most common scam these homeowners may face are refinancing scams, equity stripping, and foreclosure bailout loans.
1:51:48
In short, these scammers take advantage of vulnerable homeowners who may have who may be having trouble making mortgage payments, have bad credit, and are at risk of foreclosure.
1:51:58
In our experience so far, education is the best preventative measure that we can take, which is why we're bringing information directly to communities.
1:52:05
Our president Reynoso also wants to shout out attorney general Tish James for all the advocacy he has done on the issue and the state legislature for reforms that went into effect this summer to make Deed at the crime as well as the standing statue of limitations on prosecution of these crimes and grant more oversight to the office of the state attorney general.
1:52:23
These were important reforms that we are hopeful will make a real impact in our communities, but there's still a few other things that we can do.
1:52:30
First, we'd like to advocate for further extending the statute of limitations on prosecutions.
1:52:34
The new state law dictates that prosecution must begin with 5 years of the theft or 2 years after the rightful owner realized that their deed was stolen, whichever occurs later.
1:52:45
The state should extend this 2 year window to further allow time for homeowners who realize their deed has been stolen, so they have additional time to report to law enforcement so that prosecution can begin since they are also addressing civil issues and figure out their options.
1:52:59
We'd also like to extend, expand access to legal services.
1:53:04
Hoping to create a tangled title fund model on Philadelphia's.
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The city of Philadelphia supports this program through its division of housing, community development.
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An independent advisory committee oversees the fund, which is administered through a nonprofit called Philadelphia VIP.
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The fund provides up to $4,000 each for qualified homeowners to cover administrative legal and other costs that may arise in resolving homeownership issue.
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EP Reynoso commenced city council are starting to think about what this would look like, through the state planning initiative.
1:53:35
But the required funding to make this work at scale is much more than has been provided so far.
1:53:41
Increasing funding for community lawyers generally in addition to the tangled title fund, local legal service organizations provide educational outreach, workshops and other critical legal support.
1:53:51
An important line of defense against these scammers and we must prioritize them in fiscal year 2026 budget negotiations.
1:53:58
I'm passing legislation to expand outreach and education.
1:54:02
Both bills being heard today will help accomplish this.
1:54:05
However, a few important bills are in the finance committee and are
UNKNOWN
1:54:07
not expired.
1:54:09
Thank you.
Bruno Daniel
1:54:10
Thank you.
