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NO tidings of comfort & joy: It’s still Hell out in Rockaway
While our government still happily continues to peel big bucks off its wad and shower it down on Wall Street, big business and the “war” machine like it was Christmas for banksters and war-mongers all year long whether they need it or not, all too many hard-working tax-paying victims of Hurricane Sandy out in Staten Island and Rockaway are still getting no help at all. Zero. Ziltch. Nada.
Nothing is currently being peeled off our government’s endless roll of big bucks for them.
Last week I was riding in a Muni bus over in San Francisco (on my way back from an audition to play a bored office worker in a student film) and on the bus was a very delightful older couple who seemed to have absolutely no cares.
“Where are you from?” I asked them.
“Rockaway,” they replied hesitantly. Rockaway? OMG! Not THAT Rockaway? “Yeah, that’s the one. And, yes, we did live through Hurricane Sandy and, yes, our home was badly damaged and almost destroyed.” http://www.phillipvan.com/filter/PHOTO/BREEZY-POINT
“So what the freak are you doing out here?”
“Having fun! After having survived a personal visit from Sandy, we realized that life is just too short not to enjoy it. So we came out here to have fun.”
“But did you at least get any help from FEMA?” I asked, figuring that after our government has spent trillions on bailing out Wall Street (where no one hardly ever pays taxes and pretty much lives on Welfare for the Wealthy), then the least that our government could do is send a measly few billion bucks off to bail out afflicted taxpayers in Rockaway. http://www.phillipvan.com/filter/PHOTO/ROCKAWAY-BEACH
“Have we received any help from FEMA? In a word? No.”
“Not even anything?” No.
“It’s been a whole month after Sandy and parts of Rockaway still don’t even have electricity now. Or places for people to go.”
“But did FEMA give you any money to help you out?” No.
“We got nothing but an avalanche of paperwork.” They didn’t even get bottled water. “A relative in Wisconsin finally ended up bringing us some.” And they can’t go back to their home because the wife has asthma and their house is a hell-hole of black mold right now. Ah, black mold, the bane of asthma sufferers’ existence.
“We just took out a 60-day insurance policy from Lloyd’s of London on our stuff and left.”
I tried to grill the happy couple for more information on what is happening in Rockaway right now — and right in the middle of the Christmas and Hanukkah season too — but they weren’t interested in being reminded. All they wanted to do was forget their worst nightmare and celebrate that they, unlike some of their neighbors, were still alive and had survived one of the fiercest mega-storms ever.
And as our bus drove on past Chinatown, the happy couple soon had all us passengers singing “Merry Christmas” — in Chinese. Brave souls. I almost cried.
PS: And in the spirit of Christmas, what would Jesus have done after Sandy? He woulda given government money to the happy couple instead of lavishing it all on Wall Street and war. And I bet He would have also levied a transaction tax on every stock and bond that was bought and sold at the N.Y.S.E and used that money to keep seniors, hurricane victims and the middle class from falling off our RepubliDem-created “fiscal cliff” — and would have kicked the moneychangers out of the temple too.
And them Jesus would have removed that tax-exempt status from every single church in America that supported bigotry, the NRA, corporate welfare and war. “Go Jesus!” Happy Hanukkah. Happy Kwanzaa. Merry Christmas.
(Photos are by Leah Meyerhoff and Phillip Van, two of many New Yorkers who have volunteered their time to help out victims of this horrible mega-death storm)
EXTRA: I just figured out why the Mayans were right about December 21, 2012! It’s the exact day that climate change becomes irreversible. Duh.
We now only have a few shopping days left to do something about this.
Perhaps if we camped out all night in front of Best Buy or Target or WalMart the night before?
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And in New Jersey, our hero of Sandy governor has just signed into law a statute that makes it easier to foreclose on “abandoned” residential buildings. The definition of “abandoned” as you can see below matches a lot of storm ravaged buildings on the Jersey shore.
P.L.2012, CHAPTER 70, approved December 3, 2012
Senate, No. 2156 (First Reprint)
AN ACT establishing a summary action to foreclose mortgages on vacant and abandoned residential property and supplementing chapter 50 of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
^1. |a. For the purposes of this section, “vacant and abandoned” residential property means residential real estate with respect to which the mortgagee proves, by clear and convincing evidence, that the mortgaged real estate is vacant and has been abandoned. Real property shall be deemed “vacant and abandoned” if the court finds that the mortgaged property is not occupied by a mortgagor or tenant as evidenced by a lease agreement entered into prior to the service of a notice of intention to commence foreclosure according to section 4 of the “Fair Foreclosure Act,” P.L.1995, c.244 (C.2A:50-56), and at least two of the following conditions exist:
(1) overgrown or neglected vegetation;
(2) the accumulation of newspapers, circulars, flyers or mail on the property;
(3) disconnected gas, electric, or water utility services to the property;
(4) the accumulation of hazardous, noxious, or unhealthy substances or materials on the property;
(5) the accumulation of junk, litter, trash or debris on the property;
(6) the absence of window treatments such as blinds, curtains or shutters;
(7) the absence of furnishings and personal items;
(8) statements of neighbors, delivery persons, or government employees indicating that the residence is vacant and abandoned;
(9) windows or entrances to the property that are boarded up or closed off or multiple window panes that are damaged, broken and unrepaired;
(10) doors to the property that are smashed through, broken off, unhinged, or continuously unlocked;
(11) a risk to the health, safety or welfare of the public, or any adjoining or adjacent property owners, exists due to acts of vandalism, loitering, criminal conduct, or the physical destruction or deterioration of the property;
(12) an uncorrected violation of a municipal building, housing, or similar code during the preceding year, or an order by municipal authorities declaring the property to be unfit for occupancy and to remain vacant and unoccupied;
(13) the mortgagee or other authorized party has secured or winterized the property due to the property being deemed vacant and unprotected or in danger of freezing;
(14) a written statement issued by any mortgagor expressing the clear intent of all mortgagors to abandon the property;
(15) any other reasonable indicia of abandonment.
b. For the purposes of this section, a residential property shall not be considered “vacant and abandoned” if, on the property:
(1) there is an unoccupied building which is undergoing construction, renovation, or rehabilitation that is proceeding diligently to completion, and the building is in compliance with all applicable ordinances, codes, regulations, and statutes;
(2) there is a building occupied on a seasonal basis, but otherwise secure; or
(3) there is a building that is secure, but is the subject of a probate action, action to quiet title, or other ownership dispute.
c. In addition to the residential mortgage foreclosure procedures set out in the “Fair Foreclosure Act,” P.L.1995, c.244 (C.2A:50-53 et seq.), a summary action to foreclose a mortgage debt secured by residential property that is vacant and abandoned may be brought by a lender in the Superior Court. In addition, a lender may, at any time after filing a foreclosure action, file with the court, in accordance with the Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey, an application to proceed in a summary manner because the residential property that is the subject of the foreclosure action is believed to be “vacant and abandoned”; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to a foreclosure of a timeshare interest secured by a mortgage.
d. (1) In addition to the service of process required by the Rules of Court, a lender shall establish, for the entry of a residential foreclosure judgment under this section, that a process server has made two unsuccessful attempts to serve the mortgagor or occupant at the residential property, which attempts must be at least 72 hours apart, and during different times of the day, either before noon, between noon and 6 P.M., or between 6 P.M. and 10 P.M.
(2) In addition to any notices required to be served by law or the Rules of Court, a lender shall, with any order to show cause served as original service of process or a motion to proceed summarily, serve a notice that the lender is seeking, on the return date of the order to show cause, or on the date fixed by the court, to proceed summarily for entry of a residential foreclosure judgment because the property is vacant and abandoned.
(3) Notwithstanding the procedure for serving a notice to cure required by section 6 of the “Fair Foreclosure Act,” P.L.1995, c.244 (C.2A:50-58), a lender filing a summary action for entry of a residential mortgage foreclosure judgment under this section shall serve the mortgagor with a notice to cure with the order to show cause served as original service of process. When a lender makes application to proceed summarily because a property is vacant and abandoned, a notice to cure shall be served with the order fixing the date for the matter to proceed summarily When a property is deemed vacant and abandoned as herein defined, a lender shall not be required to serve the debtor with the notice to cure required by section 6 of the “Fair Foreclosure Act,” P.L.1995, c.244 (C.2A:50-58).
e. (1) The court may enter a final residential mortgage foreclosure judgment under this section upon a finding, (1) (a) by clear and convincing evidence, that the residential property is vacant and abandoned as defined under subsection a. of this section, and (2) (b) that a review of the pleadings and documents filed with the court, as required by the Rules of Court, supports the entry of a final residential mortgage foreclosure judgment.
(2) A final residential mortgage foreclosure judgment under this section shall not be entered if the court finds that:
(a) the property is not vacant or abandoned,; or
(b) the mortgagor or any other defendant has filed an answer, appearance, or other written objection that is not withdrawn and the defenses or objection asserted provide cause to preclude the entry of a final residential mortgage foreclosure judgment.
f. If a final residential mortgage foreclosure judgment under this section is not entered on the original or adjourned return date of an order to show cause or the date fixed by the court to proceed summarily, the court may direct that the foreclosure action continue on the normal track for residential mortgage foreclosure actions for properties that are not vacant and abandoned and the notice to cure served with the order to show cause or the order fixing that date for the matter to proceed summarily shall be of no effect.
g. All actions brought to foreclose on real property pursuant to this section shall proceed in accordance with the Rules of the Court.
h. Nothing in this section is intended to supersede or limit other procedures adopted by the Court to resolve residential mortgage foreclosure actions, including, but not limited to, foreclosure mediation.
i. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the rights of a tenant to possession of a leasehold interest under the Anti-Eviction Act, P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.1 et seq.), the “New Jersey Foreclosure Fairness Act,” P.L.2009, c.296 (C.2A:50-69 et seq.), or any other applicable law.
j. Notwithstanding paragraph (3) of subsection a. of section 12 of P.L.1995 c.244 (C.2A:50-64) to the contrary, if the court makes a finding in the foreclosure judgment that the property is vacant and abandoned, the sheriff shall sell the property within 75 60 days of the sheriff’s receipt of any writ of execution issued by the court. If it becomes apparent that the sheriff cannot comply with the provisions of this subsection, the foreclosing plaintiff may apply to the court for an order appointing a Special Master or judicial agent to hold the foreclosure sale.
Good grief, what a land-grab. Reminds me of “Lebensraum” back in WWII for sure.