News

Report: Fraud Common Among Top Debt Buyers

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In addition to shoddy mortgages, deed theft and usurious payday loans, there’s another predator sucking money out of low income neighborhoods of color: debt buyers. According to a study released this week by the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project these firms – which buy credit card, fines or other debts with the aim of collecting them from debtors – regularly file fraudulent lawsuits against low income, elderly and disabled New Yorkers. In many cases, the report alleges, debts have already been paid off or forgiven. A spokesman for DBA International, an industry association did not return a phone call and email request for comment. Between January 2006 and July 2008 the top such firms operating in NYC collected more than $1 billion through court judgments.

Bronx

Term Limits Debate Could Turn On Details

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The Charter Revision Commission’s Tuesday night “issue forum” on term limits was billed as an opportunity for commission members to hear from experts about the complex pros and cons of restricting elected officials’ tenure. That it was. But after eight public sessions, it was also the first time the commissioners discussed their own views. And—despite criticism that the panel is but a rubber stamp for a mayoral agenda—those views were far from uniform.Tuesday’s hearing was the first of five issues forums that the commission is holding to explore policy areas where they might suggest charter changes. Hearings on land use, government structure, public integrity and voter participation are scheduled for June.

Bronx

Cuomo Agenda Sees City As Model

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Attorney general and Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Cuomo wants the rest of New York State to have campaign finance laws, business assistance programs and workforce development policies similar to those already in place in New York City.In a 250-page policy blueprint released this weekend, Cuomo says:The state needs a campaign finance system like the one in New York City “to allow limits on campaign spending and to increase participation by qualified candidates who lack the means or connections to raise significant campaign funds.”Easing the burdens on the state’s small businesses requires “on a state-wide basis, a version of New York City’s Business Express project — an online, one-stop shop for required permits and documentation for all state agencies.”MA sound workforce development program means aligning “responsibility for workforce training with agencies that have the best understanding of the needs of both business and labor, as New York City did by moving its workforce training to its Department of Small Business Services.”None of the proposals stray into controversial waters. The city’s campaign finance system, which was implemented in 1988 after a municipal scandal and offers matching funds to candidates who abide by spending limits, is widely believed to have encouraged more participation in the city’s elections (although term limits also spurred more candidates to run). It features limits on donations that are thousands of dollars lower than the equivalent state regulations.The past three city elections—in which Mayor Bloomberg outspent rivals by tens of millions of dollars—exposed the limits of any voluntary campaign finance system, which cannot stop wealthy, self-financed candidates from dwarfing the outlays of candidates taking public financing. However, mandatory campaign finance systems have not survived Supreme Court scrutiny.The city isn’t just a model for policies in Cuomo’s book; it’s also a target for a few initiatives. After discussing congestion at New York’s airports, the candidate calls for “a 21st Century transportation infrastructure policy that addresses this issue including next generation air traffic control systems, improvement of ground traffic management and expanding the use of Stewart International Airport in the Hudson Valley.”

Manhattan

City Tightens Screws On Debt Collectors

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In the past 45 days, New York City has adopted two new policies that stand to help residents counter unlawful debt collection practices. But advocates say very little is being done to penalize the debt collectors who for years have broken pre-existing laws.The majority of the 300,000 New Yorkers sued annually for bad debt have their wages garnished and bank accounts emptied on fraudulent grounds, after their debt collectors don’t take suitable steps to notify them they are being sued, said Johnson Tyler, an attorney for South Brooklyn Legal Services who helps low-income people fight illegal debt collection. The Department of Consumer Affairs has received 2,667 debt collection complaints in the past three years, according to a fact sheet the department displayed at a press conference this week. In some cases, the Bloomberg administration has helped debtors ensnared by bad collectors get restitution for their losses. In the past three years, DCA restored $4.2 million in wrongful debt, charging back on average $1,559 per violating company, according to the fact sheet.The New York attorney general’s office is seeking restitution for other debtors and DCA has forced some violating companies to pay fines or surrender their licenses.