October 30, 2009
Showdown In Chicago Link-a-rama: Press Coverage
Sunday October 25th–Sen. Durbin; Crashing Bankers Ball
The Nation: Anger At Last
In These Times: ‘Showdown’ Protests Envision ‘New Economy’
Huffington Post: Sen. Durbin Denounces Unfairness
Chicago Tribune: Durbin calls for bailed-out banks to help on foreclosures
Monday October 26th–Sheila Bair–FDIC; Hits On Goldman Sachs & Wells Fargo, Street Theatre at A.B.A. Hotel
Huffington Post: Sheila Bair Speaks To Protestors, Backs CFPA
In These Times: Protesters Deliver Letter to Goldman Sachs—And Await Response
Wall Street Journal: Protesters in Chicago March on Offices of Goldman, Wells Fargo
The Nation: Bankers And Their Victims
Tuesday October 27th–Worship Service, Large March & Rally
Chicago Breaking News.com: Bank protesters descend on downtown Chicago
Associated Press: Demonstrators Protest At Chicago Banker’s Meeting
Huffington Post: Thousands Of Protestors Gather At Banker’s Convention
In These Times: 5,000 Protest Bank Power, Abuses, as ‘Showdown’ Culminates
The Nation: Here Come The Unions
Summaries, Op-Ed’s, What’s Next?
Chicago Sun Times: Bankers Facing Chicago Firestorm–Jesse Jackson
Bloomberg News: Bankers group says it won’t be deterred by protesters
Huffington Post: Enough Is Enough–George Goehl
Huffington Post: Time For Congress To Investigate The Banks–Anna Burger
Huffington Post: A New Crossover Hit–Break Up The Big Banks–George Goehl
Huffington Post: Ed Yingling Banking Industry’s Top Defender
Huffington Post: Banks v. People, Where’s The White House?
In These Times: After Chicago: Forcing a Real Response to Foreclosure Crisis
In These Times: Fuel for Real Reform? Populist Anger Drives Big Bank Protests
Wall Street Journal: Coming Tea Parties Against JP Morgan
The Nation: Editorial–Break Up The Banks
SUN’s Trip To The Showdown In Chicago
Carolyn Stanley of SUN: "I’m tired of people losing their homes and threatening our whole neighborhoods,"she said. "This protest is the only way we have to tell the banks that enough is enough." (photo by Peter Holderness–In These Times)
15 SUN folks jumped on a train late Saturday night October 24th and began the 13 hour trek to Chicago. We were joining over 5,000
other folks from community groups, religious organizations and labor
unions for a three-day protest at the American Banker’s Association
annual conference.
Dubbed the Showdown In Chicagothe event was the brainchild of National People’s Action, the national community organizing network of which SUN is a proud member. The action was opened up to anyone willing to come to Chicago and support the basic principlesof bank reform: immediate relief to keep families in their homes, a stop to abusive lending practices and the creation of a solid foundation for homeownership.
Buoyed by supportive speeches from important allies such as U.S.
Senator Dick Durbin (IL) and the head of the FDIC, Sheila Bair, the
attendees marched out of our hotel to bring our message to folks a bit less supportive: A protest at the headquarters of Goldman Sachs. There we requested a meeting to discuss a suggestion that the huge financial
firm (that had received billions in taxpayer bailout support) use its projected 2009 bonus pool of $20 billion to start a fund to help families facing foreclosure. A demand for a meeting at the headquarters of Wells Fargo, so they could explain NPA’s recent report detailing their abusive lending policies, especially in neighborhoods of color.
We always came back–all three days–to the American Banker’s
Convention annual conference at a nearby hotel. The first night a
procession stretched several blocks long, where we met up with about
100 of our fellow protestors who had managed to go undercover,
dressed in suits and ties, get into the Banker’s opening cocktail
party and stage an impromptu rally with bullhorns and chants of
"Shame On You!" Ask SUN Board President Dick Breland about this experience–no one ever looked better in a 3 piece suit than out tall and suave Board chair!
The highlight was Tuesday’s massive march and rally–this time the
procession was over a mile long, featuring the heads of both the AFL-
CIO and the Change To Win labor federations, clergy from across the
country (including Rev. Jesse Jackson), union members from across the
midwest, and community groups like SUN from National People’s Action.
The speeches were impressive, the message was uplifting and the event
was inspirational. But perhaps the most impressive part of the trip
was the discussions held by the SUN members returning from Chicago.
15 SUN folks, all inspired to bring that enthusiasm and desire for
change back to the Salt City.
August 18, 2009
Final Victory on 133 South Ave. (and we saved the city $31,500!)
Final Victory on 133 South Ave. (and we saved the city $31,500!)
Originally uploaded by Syracuse United Neighbors
On August 3rd, the city demolished the vacant house at 133 South Ave. As you may remember, SUN members protested at the law office of the owner, James Medcraf, back in October of 2008. We also had to take on the city’s three-part historic house review process: losing at the Preservation Committee and Planning Commission levels and then prevailing at the Common Council, when they declared the property not historic.
The owner ignored a Supreme Court order to demolish the building
issued in 2006–and Judge James Tormey was none too pleased when
informed of this fact at his regularly scheduled monthly hearing on
vacant house demolition. The combination of the loss of the house’s
historical status and the threat of contempt of court proceedings
made lawyer James Medcraf go through with the demolition, as well as
pay for it out of his own pocket. SUN got rid of a nuisance property that attracted trash, loitering and drug dealing–and saved the city taxpayers $31,500 to boot.
July 20, 2009
SUN quoted in Buffalo News
Amanda Pascall, SUN member and head of our Financial Justice Committee, had part of her comments at the recent meeting with representatives from the Federal Reserve in Buffalo quoted in a 7/20/09 article in the Buffalo News:
We’ve been dealing with this crisis for the last six to eight years, said Amanda Pascall of Syracuse United Neighbors. This is nothing new for us. We’ve been seeing people kicked out of their houses. And don’t forget, they were targeted by those crooks.
July 17, 2009
Jimmie Jackson from SUN Meets The Fed
SUN Attends Meeting With Federal Reserve In Buffalo
Originally uploaded by Syracuse United Neighbors
SUN Member Jimmie Jackson meets Anna Alvarez Boyd, Associate Director
of the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
SUN Hits The Road: Buffalo, NY
SUN hit the road on July 16th and took 18 members to Buffalo, N.Y. We took part in one of nine meetings being held across the country this summer with representatives from the Federal Reserve. The Fed is the nation’s most powerful financial institution, helping to set the nation’s interest rates, controlling its money supply, overseeing compliance the Community Reinvestment Act and loaning money to help banks and other institutions remain solvent.
This series of community meetings arose as a demand of the
neighborhood groups making up National People’s Action: including
SUN. The meetings will afford community groups to discuss the
problems low income neighborhoods face with mortgage foreclosures
and vacant houses with representatives of the nation’s most powerful financial institution.
The Fed serves as the nation’s central bank, loaning money to banks
across the country, helping banks maintain enough money to function.
The Fed was the agency that authorized the massive bailouts of banks
and the insurance company AIG this past year. Community groups are concerned that this kind of effort and support to corporations is not
being extended to homeowners, tenants and other victims of the
meltdown of the nation’s housing market.
In the afternoon, SUN joined members of PUSH Buffalo for a tour
of Buffalo neighborhoods hit hard by foreclosures and vacant houses.
In the evening, Amanda Pascall from SUN’s Financial Justice committee
was on a panel at a public meeting with the representatives from the
Fed to talk about SUN’s efforts to protect our neighborhoods from foreclosures and vacant houses.
March 18, 2009
SUN Testimony at Common Council Hearing on CDBG Budget
My name is Maria Johnson and I am a member of the Board of Directors of Syracuse United Neighbors (SUN). SUN’s members are families living on the south, southwest and near-west sides of Syracuse. SUN’s concern is for our neighborhoods, for the crisis in housing that everyone sees when they look out their doors: the increasing number of abandoned houses, the fact that few of these vacant houses are ever rehabbed and the near impossibility for low and moderate income families to receive financial assistance to repair their own homes. These are the struggles the CDBG program was created to address.
We are at a crossroads in this country–the economy and credit markets have collapsed and the government has had to step in and provide the capital needed to keep our economy from grinding to a halt. Our new administration is asking us to believe again–to have hope. But it is also asking us to be accountable, to use the money the government provides in as efficient a manner as possible.
Let’s face it. This budget that you are approving today doesn’t meet the high standards set by the Obama administration. $2.8 million out of the $6 million of CDBG entitlement funds given to the city by HUD is going right into the pockets of City Hall bean-counters. Why should homeowners give up the chance at a home improvement loan to fund a Department of Economic Development that does nothing while the only grocery store on the Southside disappears? Why should neighbors give up hope of dangerous vacant houses being demolished because the city wants to create a slush fund called Special Housing programs that it refuses to describe in any detail whatsoever? Why should low-income neighborhoods plan for rehabilitation of vacant houses for new owner-occupants? The money will instead go to the administrative costs that eat up 46% of the CDBG budget–despite the fact that these costs are supposed to be capped at 20%.
We will be back here shortly to discuss how to use an additional $1.6 million in CDBG funds added to the budget in the Obama stimulus package. Administrative costs for that money is limited to 1%–or $16,000. SUN urges the Council to demand that the city take not one dime out of this additional money for overhead and apply the entire amount to actual housing projects–like the demolition of 170 W. Brighton and repurposing of the land to benefit the adjoining Cannon St. community center. But we’ll be back to talk about that.
SUN has three recommendations: for the current budget:
1) City departments must release detailed budgets and program descriptions for all money it receives from the CDBG budget–just like everyone else.
2) Eliminate all technical service lines, using the money to fund housing programs.
3) Create a program to help displaced renters and homeowners find new housing.
Update: A Victory On 133 South Ave.
On Monday March 16th, the Syracuse Common Council voted unanimously NOT to declare 133 South Ave. a historic house, overturning the recommendations of the city’s Preservation Board and its Planning Commission. At two prior hearings, neither board would allow SUN to discuss the conditions of the house that plagues the neighborhood: physical deterioration of the house, trash, drug dealing etc. In fact, the Preservation Board threatened to have SUN’s director arrested.
As you may recall, SUN staged a protest at the law office of the absentee landlord of the property, Mr. James Medcraf. The owner, has kept the property vacant for 17 years and ignored a State Supreme Court order to demolish the property since 2006. SUN’s protest prompted the city to pressure Mr. Medcraf to apply for a demolition permit. The two city boards put a hold on the demolition, citing the historic nature of the house. But Mr. Medcraf can no longer hide behind the city’s arcane historic property regulations. Pony up Mr. Medcraf. 133 South is comin’ down. Stay Tuned!
July 23, 2008
SUN’s Work On Vacant Houses Featured On New Web Site
The National Training and Information Center of Chicago has created a new web site Foreclosure Photo Project to highlight the work of community groups across the nation that are fighting the effects of mortgage foreclosures and an increase in the number of vacant and abandoned buildings.
The web site, in addition to having many photographs of vacant houses in SUN’s neighborhoods, features a story about SUN’s two public Town Hall meetings held in April and May to discuss the city’s plans to reduce the number of abandoned houses in our turf.
