“Housing Scam Artists Defraud Brownsville Residents”

NEW YORK, NY June 16, 2009
—At the peak of the housing bubble, the median price of a two-family
home in Brownsville, Brooklyn was going for nearly half a million
dollars. At the time, it seemed like a boon for long time homeowners.
But housing advocates say it was a false prosperity that attracted a
cottage industry of scam artists that damaged this low income
community. WNYC’s Cindy Rodriguez has the story of one family who lost
a home that had been in the family decades. Rick Wagner, an attorney at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A (a program of Legal Services NYC) is interviewed.

REPORTER: Noone is living at 198 Grafton. The house has been empty
ever since last November, when the Pascalls were evicted. The Marshalls
notice is still posted to the front door.

WAGNER: Once the owner is out of possession this is what happens.

REPORTER:
Rick Wagner is a housing attorney at Brooklyn Legal Services [Corporation A]. He’s
pointing to the garbage that’s been thrown on the front lawn and the
overgrown weeds poking through it.

WAGNER: The fact that this
house looks like this means whoever owns 196 over here and 199 across
the street probably lost 15 or 20 percent of the fair market value of
their homes.

REPORTER: Wagner says deed scams were rampant in
Brownsville and other poor neighborhoods. The outspoken lawyer accuses
the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office and all DA’s around the city of
ignoring the problem, that he calls a civil rights issue.

WAGNER: 90 percent were concentrated in minority neighborhoods. Not just in New York City, but around the country.

Click here for the full interview at WNYC.org.