Lessons Learned
While On The Beat
By Eric L. Adams
Protecting Homeowners
When I bought my first house,
where I still reside today, I felt a
mix of pride of fear. Homeownership
is a tremendous privilege and
responsibility – I had scrimped and
saved to get to this point, but I knew
that many challenges, financial and
otherwise, still lay ahead.
Making a house into a home is a
process that often takes several years.
Some people undertake ambitious
floor-to-ceiling renovations, while
others are comfortable with adding
a few personal touches but leaving
everything else intact. But it is a
labor of love – we make a home
because we are investing in our
future. We envision settling down,
raising a family, and growing old in
a place we call home.
Even with the effort we put into
building a home, homeowners –
particularly in Brooklyn - are under
increasing stress today. Some have
fallen behind on their mortgage
payments, others have lost their
homes altogether. Foreclosures
in Kings County last year reached
their highest level since the housing
bubble burst. And on top of that,
a new epidemic of deed fraud
has hit vulnerable homeowners
in gentrifying neighborhoods,
accelerating displacement and
leaving many homeless.
The kicker? The City may
unintentionally be playing a role.
The Third Party Transfer
program (TPT) allows the City to
foreclose on “distressed” properties
and hand them over to developers
to fix up and rent out at affordable
prices. The program began in 1996,
and is administered through the
Department of Housing Preservation
and Development.
In theory, it sounds like a
good idea. Using all the tools at
our disposal to restore properties
that have fallen into disrepair and
increase affordable housing stock
are noble goals. But the reality is
much more complicated. Despite
the City’s best intentions, TPT seems
to be doing more harm than good.
Often, the City deems properties
“distressed” over something as
trivial as an unpaid water bill.
In November of 2018, after hearing
from multiple people and sitting
down with stakeholders throughout
the borough that had firsthand
experience with the program, I wrote
a letter with Council Member Robert
Cornegy to the Mayor outlining our
concerns. We communicated our
belief that TPT had unfortunately
become tainted by fraud, and that
homeowners were being stripped
of their equity without the proper
recourse. We also demanded that the
City, State, and Federal government
conduct a “full-scale, forensic audit”
into the program.
Eric L. Adams
Our concerns turned out to be
justified. In March of this year,
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice
Mark Partnow ruled against the
City and restored properties to
six homeowners who had their
properties seized through the TPT
program. In his decision, Justice
Partnow wrote, “While the Third
Party Transfer Program was
intended to be a beneficial program,
an overly broad and improper
application of it that results in the
unfair divestiture of equity in one’s
property cannot be permitted.”
There is still a lot of work to be
done. In July, the City Council held
a hearing on the TPT program, and
our office submitted testimony. In
the testimony, we reiterated our
call for a full-scale investigation,
and urged the Council to pass Public
Advocate Jumaane Williams’ bill
imposing a two-year moratorium
on the program until we could
implement the necessary reforms
and strengthen oversight.
In the coming weeks and months,
we plan to roll out an ambitious,
comprehensive agenda formulated with
the input of experts and advocates that
combats housing theft and rein in the
excesses of TPT. I am also encouraging
the Governor to sign S1688, a bill the
legislature passed in the most recent
session that would return stolen
properties to their original owners.
After all the time spent making
a house a home, it is almost
unimaginable that it could be taken
away from you over arrears or a
bureaucratic error. Unfortunately, that
is how TPT is currently structured. We
have an obligation to homeowners
throughout Brooklyn and the City to
ensure the homes they spend years
cultivating remain in their hands.
Eric L. Adams is borough
president of Brooklyn. He served 22
years in the New York City Police
Department (NYPD), retiring at the
rank of captain, as well as represented
District 20 in the New York State
Senate from 2006 until his election as
borough president in 2013.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J BTR ULY 19-25, 2019 7
Vicki Schneps, Schneps Media CEO (c) joins with youth at the Bronx YMCA after the media
company, the parent organization of the Bronx Times, made a $1,600 donation to their summer
campers on Friday, June 14. Photo by Michael Carlo
Schneps Media donates
proceeds to Bronx YMCA
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
The Schneps Media family raised
money to support a worthy cause: the
borough’s youth.
Victoria Schneps, president and
publisher of Schneps Media, the parent
company of the Bronx Times Reporter,
visited the Bronx YMCA on
Friday, July 12 to present a $1,600 donation
to the Y’s summer youth camp
programming.
The funds were raised at the annual
Bronx Times’ Bronx Power
Women in Business awards raffl e,
which took place in June.
Schneps stated it was her treat
to visit the Bronx YMCA to present
them with a check to help them further
their programs for children.
“The $1,600 raised at our Bronx
Power Women event I know will have
a great impact because of the powerful
work of the YMCA,” said Schneps.
“We are delighted to help them in
their mission to serve the community,
as is our community media group.“
Joining Schneps in making the
gift to support the Y’s summer camp
was Bronx Times publisher Laura
Guerriero.
“When asked by Victoria Schneps,
owner of the Schneps Media
and the Bronx Times Reporter, what
organization I would like to donate
the proceeds of the Bronx Power
Women in Business raffl e to, I immediately
thought of the Bronx YMCA,”
said Guerriero. “I have served on the
Bronx YMCA Board Managers for
several years mainly because this organization
truly enhances the lives
of our Bronx children.”
Guerriero said that generous
donation will “enable one or more
Bronx children to experience summer
camp at the Bronx YMCA.”
Sharlene Brown, executive director
of the Bronx YMCA, said that the
donated funds would be used to provide
scholarships for children to attend
summer camp programming at
the YMCA, which is located at 2 Castle
Hill Avenue.
Brown said she thanked Schneps
Media and said that the children met
with its president to express their
gratitude and present her with cards
they had made.
The ages of summer camp youth
run from four-years-old to 16-yearsold,
and many camps are geared
towards different themes such as
swimming, teen and science camps,
said Brown.
There is also camp programming
for children with special needs, she
said.
“Camps keep kids engaged in
physical activities, improve academics,
and enhance social and emotional
skills,” said Brown. “Every day they
learn something new and have fun.”
One of the most important aspects
of the Bronx YMCA’s summer camp
programming is aquatic safety, with
the executive director noting that every
time a camper gets into the facility’s
pool, a swimming lesson that enhances
both skill and self-esteem is
part of that experience.
“Children get in the pool at least
twice a week, (and) every time a child
gets in the pool, there are lessons,”
said Brown.
Summer camp, typically offered
at two-week intervals, cost $450 per
child.
“This is crucial at this time because
children need a safe place to be
in the summer,” she said. “It keeps
them off the street and places them
in an environment where they are
learning and growing.”