Housing Commissioner to Convene Foreclosure Prevention Forum

ALBANY, NY (04/23/2009)(readMedia)-- Deborah VanAmerongen, commissioner of the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) will meet with organizations that are implementing DHCR's Foreclosure Prevention Services Program in New York City to discuss the progress of the program.

VanAmerongen will be joined by Jane M. Azia, director of Non-Depository Institutions and Consumer Protection for the State Banking Department and Michael Hickey from the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, a not-for-profit agency created to address the lending and foreclosure crisis.

Other topics to be discussed include the increasing incidence of foreclosure-rescue rip-offs and how to raise public awareness of the scams, as well as mandatory settlement conferences, which bring homeowners and lenders together in court to determine whether a settlement can be achieved prior to the commencement of the foreclosure action.

The officials will also discuss a new call-center, funded through a $645,000 DHCR grant, that routes foreclosure-related calls to the City's 311 line and those that come in directly to the Center for NYC Neighborhoods. The call center tracks each case and follows up on the services provided and the status of the homeowners who made the call for assistance