New York Attorney General Letitia James on Saturday launched the “Protect Our Homes” initiative .
Caribbean Life, January 17-23, 2020 3
By Nelson A. King
The late, legendary Jamaican reggae
superstar Peter Tosh had called
for the legalization of marijuana in
his debut album, “Legalize It,” in
1975.
Now, nearly 45 years later, New
York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed
to legalize the herb in the state.
“Legalize It” was Tosh’s debut
album as a solo artist after leaving
the late, illustrious Bob Marley and
the Wailers.
“Our economic growth would be a
hollow victory if we did not continue
our social progress,” said Cuomo
in his State of the State address in
Albany on Wednesday. “Let’s legalize
adult use of marijuana.”
In proposing a comprehensive regulatory
approach to legalizing marijuana,
called by other names, such
as herb, ganja and grass, Cuomo said
he will create a new Office of Cannabis
Management to specialize in
cannabis regulation — overseeing
the medical, adult-use and hemp
programs.
The proposal will administer social
equity licensing opportunities, develop
an egalitarian adult-use market
structure and facilitate market entry
through access to capital, technical
assistance and incubation of equity
entrepreneurs.
The proposal will also correct past
harms to individuals and communities
that have disproportionally been
impacted by prohibition.
“For decades, community of color
were disproportionately affected by
unequal enforcement of marijuana
laws,” said Cuomo. “We righted that
injustice when we decriminalized
possession.”
The governor first endorsed the
legalization of marijuana in December
2018, but legalization law was not
included in the 2019 state budget.
By Nelson A. King
New York Attorney General Letitia
James on Saturday launched the “Protect
Our Homes” initiative with a day of
action to inform homeowners in Brooklyn
about deed theft and other housingrelated
scams.
James said Saturday’s efforts are the
first step in a campaign of coordinated
prevention and enforcement actions to
combat deed theft in New York City.
In addition, the attorney general
announced the formation of an interagency
taskforce to focus on deed theft
and other housing fraud issues.
“Homeownership is the cornerstone
of every community, but for decades,
long-time homeowners in rapidly gentrifying
areas have been the prime targets
of schemes to steal their homes,”
she said.
“Deed theft is a heartless crime foisted
on people who worked all their lives
to achieve a vital piece of the American
Dream, only to have that dream become
a nightmare,” she added. “My office is
committed to working with our law
enforcement and community partners
to use a combination of education and
enforcement action to help our neighbors
protect their homes.”
James said deed theft has become a
common tool of career criminals and
unscrupulous real estate developers to
illegally obtain real estate, “so they can
sell it at a huge profit in high-demand
housing markets like Brooklyn.
“This illegal scheme especially affects
people of color, the elderly and other
vulnerable homeowners who are being
scammed into signing over the deeds to
their homes to con artists,” James said.
She said deed theft usually happens
when scammers forge deeds to look
like they purchased the home, or when
homeowners are tricked into signing
their homes over to a scammer without
knowing what they are doing.
Scammers then seek to evict the
homeowner and sell the house to a
third party at a significant profit, the
attorney general said.
As a kick-off to Saturday’s initiative,
James partnered with the Homeowners
Protection Program (HOPP), AARP NY,
elected officials and others to send more
than 100 volunteers in the neighborhoods
of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Prospect
Lefferts Gardens and Flatbush.
James said volunteers knocked on
doors and left informational materials
about what deed theft entails, how to
spot it, and what to do if one thinks
one’s been a victim.
She said her office has created a
“dedicated complaint process” for issues
pertaining to deed theft.
Those who believe they have experienced
deed theft are encouraged to
call the help line at 1-800-771-7755,
email deedtheft@ag.ny.gov, or fill out
the online complaint form.
James said constituent services staff
are trained to intake complaints, do
initial research and make referrals as
needed.
The Office of the Attorney General
is also developing a program to educate
faith leaders, senior center workers,
home health aides and others who
regularly engage with potential victims
of deed theft, so that they can spot the
warning signs of deed theft, report
these scams and connect the homeowner
to trusted service providers.
Additionally, James announced the
formation of an interagency taskforce
that will include district attorneys in
New York City and New York City Sheriff’s
Office in an effort to coordinate
the law enforcement response to deed
theft and other issues pertaining to real
estate fraud.
“Deed theft is considered by many the
most harmful type of scam perpetrated
against older New Yorkers of color,” said
AARP New York State Director, Beth
Finkel. “We made significant progress
last year when the governor signed a
new law to strengthen consumer protections
for vulnerable homeowners.
“We are happy to join Attorney General
James to launch this new initiative
to educate potentially vulnerable homeowners
about deed theft and ensure
strong enforcement of this and other
consumer protection laws, particularly
here in Brooklyn, which unfortunately
has become the geographic target of
choice for scammers,” she added.
“IMPACCT Brooklyn is a proud and
active member of the Homeowner protection
program known as HOPP sponsored
by the Office of the AG,” said
IMPACCT Brooklyn Executive Director,
Bernell Grier. “For too many years
homeowners, particularly homeowners
in Central Brooklyn have been targeted
by unscrupulous players. They appear
as solution providers during a time
when a homeowner is most in need
of help. This campaign initiated By
AG James is a heroic and most needed
effort to inform homeowners and provide
tools to combat these scam artists
and protect perhaps the greatest asset
our families possess our homes. Today
starts the campaign to preserve our
homes.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Associated Press / Seth Wenig
James launches ‘Protect Our Homes’
initiative to combat deed theft
Legalize
it (ganja):
Cuomo
link
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