ADVOCATING FOR OUR NEIGHBORS
On June 5, 2023, Access Justice Brooklyn signed a letter of support of Senator Zellnor Myrie’s bill to Amend the criminal procedure law, the penal law and the executive law, in relation to deed theft (S6569A). The bill would explicitly create the crime of deed theft and ensure that existing criminal penalties apply to scammers who engage in this predatory conduct. (Click here to read)
On May 15, 2023, Access Justice Brooklyn signed a letter in support of Senator Leroy Comrie and Assemblymember Helene Weinstein’s bill to Enact the “Consumer and Small Business Protection Act” (S.795/A.7138). The bill provides vital protections to consumers and small businesses by banning unfair and abusive business acts and practices, in line with 42 other states. (Click here to read)
On Wednesday, April 26, 2023, Access Justice Brooklyn Supervising Attorney, Peter S. White II, provided testimony at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Field Hearing, hosted by Director Rohit Chopra, to discuss “zombie” second mortgages — debts that consumers thought were satisfied long ago by loan modifications or bankruptcy proceedings or that were written off by lenders as uncollectable — and other debt collection issues. (View the hearing here)
On March 30, 2023, Access Justice Brooklyn provided a statement in support of the passage of A.5368/S.4750 to expand protections already in place for consumers in lawsuits involving consumer credit transactions to all forms of consumer debt. The bill would amend the civil practice law and rules, the New York City civil court act, the judiciary law and the uniform city court act, in relation to redefining consumer credit transaction to consumer debt. (Click here to read)
On February 19, 2023, Access Justice Brooklyn provided a comment on the Department of Financial Services’ revised proposed amendments to its debt collection rules. The revised proposed amendments will help curb debt collection abuses by third-party debt collectors, and will address some of the gaps left by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) debt collection rule, Regulation F. (Click here to read)
On February 7, 2023, Access Justice Brooklyn participated in the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP) Funding Campaign. HOPP helps thousands of families access housing counseling and legal services to prevent foreclosure and displacement for free. (Click here to learn more)
On January 6, 2023, Access Justice Brooklyn signed a letter in support of reforming the New York child support system to increase efficiency and deliver justice to families. The proposed bill, A.9104/S.8554, would pilot an administrative conference process for straightforward, undisputed child support, providing a broader more options for parents and freeing up needed judicial resources for litigated cases in Family Court. (Click here to read)