Plan unveiled to assist New Yorkers with escalating mortgage payments

New York City Comptroller William Thompson, Jr. Thursday launched a Foreclosure Prevention Helpline to assist New Yorkers struggling to overcome burdensome mortgage payments and threatened with foreclosure.
Joined by representatives from community and civic groups, Thompson announced the Helpline - at (212) 669-4600.
New York City has the lowest homeownership rate – 33 percent - of all the nation’s major cities, according to New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. While New York City ownership rates are low by national standards, rates among Black and Hispanic households are even lower, at 28 and 16 percent, respectively.
Recent data from the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project suggests that the City could surpass 15,000 foreclosure filings this year – more than double the total two years ago. Foreclosures hit minority neighborhoods the hardest, including South Jamaica, Cambria Heights, Bedford Stuyvesant, East New York and Williamsbridge.
Thompson encouraged New Yorkers to call his Helpline for assistance. Staff members will research each case and make appropriate referrals to non-profit organizations certified by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.