Highlighting Poughkeepsie's Housing & Foreclosure Crisis, Residents Lead Tour & Cleanup of Bank-Owned V

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Pat Diaz speaks from porch of 39 Glenwood Ave. after 80 marches arrive at the foreclosed home

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (06/23/2012)(readMedia)-- Over 80 Poughkeepsie residents led a tour and cleanup of vacant, foreclosed buildings Saturday afternoon to demonstrate the need for affordable housing and restoration of abandoned properties. Demonstrators visited three foreclosed homes owned by big banks, stopping at each to clean up the yard while other community members discussed how homeless residents could be housed in those vacant properties. There are over 300 vacant properties in the City of Poughkeepsie and local residents must foot the bill for their maintenance when banks abandon them.

"We are marching today because enough is enough," said Sheila Blanding, a member of Community Voices Heard and City of Poughkeepsie resident, as kicked off the march. "These banks got away with crashing the economy and the housing market, and yet they still own homes in Poughkeepsie that used to belong to people. Now these homes are sitting empty, and at the same time we have families who are homeless. Who needs these homes more – the banks or people?"

The march was led past 9 Hooker Ave. and 166 S. Cherry St., where community members shared that they are both owned by U.S. Bank, who received $7 billion in bailout funds and whose CEO is compensated over $7 million yearly. The final destination, 39 Glenwood Ave., is owned by Deutsche Bank, whose CEO made over $16 million in 2007.

At 39 Glenwood Ave., marchers assembled outside the home to hold a press conference on the front steps, while others picked up garbage, raked leaves, and planted flowers.

Dina Wilson, who attended the march with her 7 year old son, is currently homeless. "I think about my son, and what logic he must have to employ, to rationalize the fact that there are unwanted properties all over the place, but our family lacks a permanent residence. We have the solution to end two social ills at the same time – foreclosed houses with foreclosed people."

Pat Diaz, a CVH member who used to live on Glenwood Avenue, spoke about the negative impacts these vacant properties are causing on her neighborhood. "This is a nice block, but once a house becomes empty it creates all kinds of problems – it attracts crime and vandalism, and even fires. It brings down the whole neighborhood."

The groups called for the CEOs of specific big banks and local government officials to take action to address the housing and foreclosure crisis. In addition, they announced the launch of a campaign for housing low-income residents using tactics of housing takeovers, which have become commonplace nationally since the foreclosure crisis.

"There are now more vacant homes than homeless people in the United States," said Sharon Froelich of the Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson Home Defense Association. "Our goal is to see that no one is forced out of their homes. To do this we will use both legal action and public support, including direct action to keep people in their homes or move people into vacant homes."

In 2010, the Mid-Hudson region, despite its relatively small population, was ranked third in number of new foreclosure filings in the State. Last week, staff from Governor Cuomo's Foreclosure Relief Unit visited Poughkeepsie to meet with homeowners at risk of foreclosure. Dozens of foreclosed homes still sit empty around the City of Poughkeepsie while homelessness is on the rise. Hundreds of Dutchess County families go homeless every night and thousands more do not have access to quality, affordable housing.

"Today we are showing the effects of the foreclosure crisis on our community, and calling on our officials to address it. But we don't have much time to waste - we can't have families like Dina's homeless while buildings sit empty. If things don't get better, our groups are going to start taking back these abandoned properties and putting families into them," said Blanding.

The march was led by local community groups, including Community Voices Heard, a membership-led organization of low-income residents with 25,000 members statewide, Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, a group that works with families in foreclosure to keep them in their homes, and Occupy Poughkeepsie.

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