Homeowners take protest to Wells Fargo offices

Brooklyn-based group alleges mistreatment of minority borrowers in outer boroughs

150 East 42nd Street and Wells Fargo's John Stumpf
150 East 42nd Street and Wells Fargo's John Stumpf

A Brooklyn-based community group protested outside Wells Fargo’s Midtown Manhattan offices late last week, alleging the poor treatment of minority borrowers.

Roughly 30 members of Foreclosure Resisters, also known as Attorneys for Common Law, staged a vigil on the steps of Hiro Real Estate and Goldman Sachs’ landmarked tower at 150 East 42nd Street. The group offers training to homeowners who seek to represent themselves in Foreclosure Court. While foreclosures have grown less prevalent in Manhattan, traditionally minority-heavy neighborhoods in the outer boroughs such as Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn and Cambria Heights in Queens have seen the largest proportion of foreclosure auctions in the city, as of 2012, according to New Economy Project data.

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Monica Gomez, a member of Foreclosure Resisters and resident of Queens Village, told the New York Post that she provided Wells Fargo with all documents needed for a loan modification, but it has yet to be granted. The delay in approval has lasted several years, and her debt is now almost twice the amount of her home’s value, Gomez said. Wells Fargo did not comment to the New York Post.

Last month, Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest mortgage servicer, was accused of setting up detailed internal procedures to fabricate foreclosure papers on demand, as previously reported. [NYP]Mark Maurer