Occupy Bernal, ACCE, Occupy SF Housing Demand Banks End Foreclosure Auctions and Comply With San Francisco Foreclosure Moratorium

OCCUPY BERNAL MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Occupy Bernal: Julien Ball, +1 (415) 483-9138, press@occupybernal.org

ACCE: Vivian Richardson, +1 (415) 994-2778, vivan.richardson@yahoo.com

Occupy SF Housing: Stardust, +1 (415) 425-3936, press@occupysfhousing.org

Occupy Bernal, ACCE, Occupy SF Housing Demand Banks End Foreclosure Auctions and Comply With San Francisco Foreclosure Moratorium

Occupy the Auction Dance Party to Celebrate Wells Fargo Bank Postponing Auction of Bernal Neighbor’s Home

San Francisco, April 27, 2012 – San Francisco Occupy activists and supporters invited the 99% to attend an Occupy the Auction Dance Party at 1:45pm today at City Hall. Occupy Bernal, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), and the Occupy SF Housing Coalition will celebrate Wells Fargo’s postponement of the auction of the home of Bernal neighbor Eric and his partner John by dancing away the remaining foreclosure auctions taking place on City Hall steps tomorrow.

Occupy the Auctions Dance Party:
1:45pm, Friday, April 27, at City Hall Steps, 400 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco

“Wells Fargo Bank postponed the auction of our home, but my partner and I are still living with the looming threat that they will sell our home out from under us,” said Occupy Bernal Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Eric L. “We went through some tough times, but now we can afford to pay if the bank will just negotiate for us and all those who are seeking a fair deal to stay in their homes.”

“The banks continue selling off the homes of San Franciscans every weekday despite the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ passage of a foreclosure moratorium resolution and the Mayor’s request for a pause in bank foreclosures,” said ACCE Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Vivian Richardson. “Let’s tell the predatory banks we need a fair deal for every home owner and renter in San Francisco.”

Occupy Bernal, ACCE, and other community organizations in the Occupy SF Housing Coalition have organized an Occupy the Auctions/Evictions direct action campaign to invite the 99% to halt the dozens of foreclosure auctions that take place on City Hall steps each weekday.

Background:

California Attorney General Kamala Harris on February 27, 2012, asked lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to halt foreclosures statewide and for principal reductions for those facing foreclosure.

An audit commissioned by San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting on nearly 400 San Francisco foreclosures over the past three years reveals that “fully 84 percent of the foreclosure files contained at least one clear legal violation and more than 66 percent of the files contained multiple violations”. This report confirms what many have suspected and provides the evidence required for issuing a moratorium on all predatory or for-profit evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions until such time as the law violations mentioned in the report are resolved and mechanisms are put in place to prevent further bank abuses of homeowners and renters.

The recent deal between banks and the Attorneys General of 49 of 50 states is woefully inadequate and does little for the Californians hardest hit by the crisis. Foreclosures have cost the state $650 billion in lost home values, property taxes, and foreclosure-related costs, according to a report released last December by California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC) and the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE). The top banks – Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Ally Financial – pay only $18 billion in this sweetheart deal, which amounts to only $150 per foreclosure statewide. About 750,000 families will receive up to $2,000, a pittance compared with even the depressed value of their homes. The largest chunk – more than $12 billion – will in part go to pressure even more homeowners to sell their homes for less than what they owe, in real estate transactions called short sales that are nothing more than an easy way for banks to make money and save time evicting homeowners, while leaving more and more neighbors without homes. To summarize, the 1% are profiting off the economic distress of the 99% to finagle the largest land grab since the Depression era or earlier.

In a city that has seen 12,000 or more foreclosures in the past three years, Occupy Bernal started organizing in December 2011 to stop the evictions and foreclosures of our neighbors, joining a community of housing rights organizations who have long been fighting for tenant’s and home owners’ rights. In response to public protest in January 2012, Wells Fargo Bank postponed auctions of the Bernal homes of Washington and Maria Davila and the Alberto Del Rio family, but the bank also rescheduled the auctions. Despite meeting with six foreclosure fighters from the Bernal Heights neighborhood and another from Bayview-Hunters Point, Wells Fargo executives have refused to allow any to refinance their homes or modify their loans, and have continued plans to sell off their homes.

This Occupy the Auctions action follows on successful protests that protested the Wells Fargo Shareholder Meeting on April 24, 2012, occupied the home of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf on February 25, 2012, and shut down Wells Fargo headquarters on January 20, 2012, and Wells Fargo bank branches in the Bernal, Excelsior, and Noe Valley neighborhoods on January 5, January 7, and March 24 respectively.

To sign up for the Occupy Bernal press list and/or obtain photos and video of the actions, see http://www.occupybernal.org/press

Organizations and Campaigns:

Occupy Bernal is a neighborhood-based Occupy currently focusing on preventing the banks from throwing our neighbors out of their homes. Web: http://www.occupybernal.org

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) is raising up the voices of low income, immigrant and working families across California. Web: http://www.calorganize.org

Occupy SF Housing is a coalition which includes OccupySF, SF Tenants Union, Housing Rights Committee of SF, Causa Justa :: Just Cause, Eviction Defense Collaborative, ACCE, Homes Not Jails, Occupy Bernal, and other community groups and individuals. The coalition came together to stop banks from evicting tenants and homeowners through foreclosures or through their partnerships with real estate speculators. Web: http://www.occupysfhousing.org

Occupy the Auctions/Evictions is a campaign to halt for-profit and predatory evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions in San Francisco and beyond. Web: http://www.occupytheauctions.org and http://www.occupyevictions.org

Banking Videos for April 23rd’s Movie Showing about Wells Fargo

These video links are courtesy of Peter Menchini, Occupy SF Media
http://www.youtube.com/user/MayaMediated
https://picasaweb.google.com/110351006045593232796

These are for the lead-up to the
Protest the Wells Fargo Shareholders’ Meeting on Tuesday, April 24, 2012.

Videos about Wells Fargo

Videos about banks, foreclosures, and even education

Ross Rhodes Speaks at SF City Hall Rally Before Supervisors Committee Hear Foreclosure Moratorium Resolution

Thanks to Carol Harvey for this video of Occupy Bernal Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Ross Rhodes speaking at a San Francisco City Hall rally just before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee heard a Foreclosure Moratorium Resolution which passed the committee unanimously on to the full board, probably on April 10.

Carol’s full article appears here.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors Committee to Hear Foreclosure Moratorium

OCCUPY BERNAL AND OCCUPY SF HOUSING MEDIA ADVISORY

Contact: Christie Hakim, +1 (415) 285-6899, press@occupybernal.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Occupy Bernal, ACCE, and Occupy SF Housing Support Board of Supervisors’ First in the Nation Major City Resolution on Unlawful Foreclosures and Moratorium on Foreclosures and Evictions to be heard in committee April 2, 2012

San Francisco, April 2, 2012 – Occupy Bernal, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), and the Occupy SF Housing Coalition will speak out at the Land Use and Economic Development Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in support of resolutions calling for a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions in San Francisco, demanding an immediate moratorium on predatory bank evictions, fraudulent foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions by all city officials.

The organizations plan a rally on the Polk Street steps of City Hall at 1:30pm. Speakers at the rally include: San Francisco Supervisors John Avalos and David Campos, Occupy Bernal Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Ross Rhodes and ACCE Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Vivian Richardson.

After the rally, speakers and other moratorium supporters will attend the Committee meeting at City Hall to present testimony.

Members of several City Departments, including the Assessor-Recorder’s office and the Mayor’s office, will present testimony. A representative from State Attorney General Kamala Harris’s office is expected to attend to address her proposed foreclosure and eviction moratorium and Homeowners’ Bill of Rights currently pending in Sacramento. In addition, counselors who have been working with San Franciscans facing foreclosure and eviction will speak about remedies that will address proposed remedies to the problems their clients face. ACCE and Occupy organizers including FEFs will speak out about the problems they have faced in their attempts to save their homes from foreclosure by Wells Fargo Bank.

Occupy Bernal, ACCE, and the Occupy SF Housing coalition invite the press to hear from San Francisco residents as well as from officials of the City and County of San Francisco.

The recent deal between banks and the Attorneys General of 49 of 50 states is woefully inadequate and does little for the Californians hardest hit by the crisis era or earlier.

“We are fast losing residents from our communities – seniors, families, community leaders, city workers,” said ACCE Foreclosure Fighter Archbishop Franzo King. “The city must do all in its power to pause foreclosures and cease partnering with predatory banks so we can all hold the banks accountable for their crimes.”

“The banks have torn apart our communities and caused a financial and health crisis by unjustly foreclosing and evicting our neighbors from their homes,” commented Occupy Bernal organizer Christie Hakim. “We support those city officials who have joined with the state Attorney General in calling for an immediate halt to predatory and for-profit foreclosures and related auctions and evictions.”

An audit commissioned by San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting on nearly 400 San Francisco foreclosures over the past three years reveals that “fully 84 percent of the foreclosure files contained at least one clear legal violation and more than 66 percent of the files contained multiple violations”. This report confirms what many have suspected and provides the evidence required for issuing a moratorium on all predatory or for-profit evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions.

Both Occupy Bernal and ACCE have recently held successful protests that occupied the home of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf on February 25, 2012, protested in front of Board of Directors member Lloyd Dean’s Dignity Health office on March 14, 2012, and shut down Wells Fargo headquarters on January 20, 2012 and Wells Fargo bank branches in the Bernal and Excelsior neighborhoods on January 5 and January 7 respectively.

To sign up for the Occupy Bernal press list and/or obtain photos and video of the actions, see http://www.occupybernal.org/press.

Organizations and Campaigns:

Occupy Bernal is a neighborhood-based Occupy currently focusing on preventing the banks from throwing our neighbors out of their homes. Web: http://www.occupybernal.org

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) is raising up the voices of low income, immigrant and working families across California. Web: http://www.calorganize.org

Occupy SF Housing is a coalition which includes OccupySF, SF Tenants Union, Housing Rights Committee of SF, Causa Justa :: Just Cause, Eviction Defense Collaborative, ACCE, Homes Not Jails, Occupy Bernal, and other community groups and individuals. The coalition came together to stop banks from evicting tenants and homeowners through foreclosures or through their partnerships with real estate speculators. Web: http://www.occupysfhousing.org

Occupy the Auctions/Evictions is a campaign to halt for-profit and predatory evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions in San Francisco and beyond. Web: http://www.occupytheauctions.org and http://www.occupyevictions.org

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Occupy Bernal, Occupy SF Housing Fight Wells Fargo to Save Neighbors’ Homes

OCCUPY BERNAL MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Occupy Bernal: Julien Ball or Stardust, +1 (415) 483-9138, press@occupybernal.org

Causa Justa :: Just Cause: Maria Zamudio, +1 (805) 729-3395, maria.zamudio@cjjc.org or Robbie Clark, +1 (510) 228-9015, robbie@cjjc.org

ACCE: Grace Martinez, +1 (415) 377-6872, gmartinez@calorganize.org

Occupy SF Housing: Ted Gullicksen, +1 (415) 812-4331, ted@sftu.org

Occupy Bernal, Occupy SF Housing Fight Wells Fargo to Save Neighbors’ Homes

San Francisco, February 14, 2012 – Occupy Bernal and Occupy SF Housing today invite the 99% to join a campaign to stop Wells Fargo Bank from evicting and foreclosing on our neighbors and to defend all neighborhoods from predatory bank evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions.

Occupy Bernal, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Causa Justa :: Just Cause (CJJC), and other community organizations in the Occupy SF Housing coalition are demanding an end to predatory, for-profit evictions and foreclosures by Wells Fargo in our neighborhood, in the city of San Francisco and beyond.

Press Conference with Neighbors Facing Unjust Eviction & Foreclosure:
11:30am – 12:00pm (noon) on Tuesday, February 14 (Valentine’s Day), at
Bradley Manning Plaza (Justin Herman Plaza), San Francisco

In conjunction with a Valentine’s Day “Dump the Banks” action organized by CJJC, Occupy Bernal and Occupy SF Housing invite the press to hear from San Francisco residents who the banks are unjustly foreclosing and evicting from their homes.

Speakers will include: Alberto del Rio, Occupy Bernal Foreclosure Fighter; Maria Zamudio, CJJC; Maria Davila, Occupy Bernal Foreclosure Fighter; Ted Gullicksen, San Francisco Tenant’s Union; Victor Granados, Occupy Bernal Foreclosure Fighter; a representative from ACCE; and Stardust, Occupy Bernal.

After the press conference, the press and the 99% are invited to join CJJC and friends in a march on the banks to let them know we’re dumping them. The CJJC invitation says: “They’ve broken our hearts, our homes and torn our families and communities apart.” The event will include street theater/teatro, music, and valentines for everyone to sign, as well as an opportunity for folks to move their money to community credit unions.

The recent deal between banks and the Attorneys General of 49 of 50 states is woefully inadequate and does little for the Californians hardest hit by the crisis. Foreclosures have cost the state $650 billion in lost home values, property taxes, and foreclosure-related costs, according to a report released by last December by California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC) and the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE). The top banks – Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Ally Financial – pay only $18 billion in this sweetheart deal, which amounts to only $150 per foreclosure statewide. About 750,000 families will receive up to $2,000, a pittance compared with even the depressed value of their homes. The largest chunk – more than $12 billion – will in part go to pressure even more homeowners to sell their homes for less than what they owe, in real estate transactions called short sales which are usually an easy way for banks to make money and save time, while leaving more and more neighbors without homes.

To summarize, the 1% are profiting off the economic distress of the 99% to finagle the largest land grab since the Depression era or earlier.

In a city that has seen as many as 12,000 foreclosures in the past three years, Occupy Bernal started organizing in December 2011 to stop the evictions and foreclosures of our neighbors, joining a community of housing rights organizations who have long been fighting for tenant’s and home owners’ rights. In response to public protest in January 2012, Wells Fargo Bank postponed auctions of the Bernal homes of Washington and Maria Davila and the Alberto Del Rio family, but the bank also rescheduled the auctions. Despite meeting with six foreclosure fighters from the Bernal Heights neighborhood and another from Bayview-Hunters Point, Wells Fargo executives have refused to allow any to refinance their homes or modify their loans, and have continued plans to sell off their homes.

SAVE OUR HOMES FROM WELLS FARGO CAMPAIGN ACTIONS:

Details for the upcoming actions will be announced at the press conference. Here is a list of the actions planned:

Neighborhoods March to Home of Wells Fargo Chairman, President & CEO John Stumpf:
9:00am-2:00pm on Saturday, February 25 at 1090 Chestnut St, San Francisco

Neighbors Rally at Office of Wells Fargo Director, President and CEO of Catholic Healthcare West, Lloyd H. Dean:
11:00am-1:30pm on Monday, February 27, at 185 Berry St, San Francisco

Save the Del Rio Family Home, Stop the Foreclosure Auction:
1:45pm-3:00pm on Thursday, March 1, City Hall Steps, 400 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco

These protests follow on successful protests that shut down Wells Fargo headquarters on January 20, 2012, and Wells Fargo bank branches in the Bernal and Excelsior neighborhoods on January 5 and January 7 respectively.

For more information about the Causa Justa :: Just Cause Valentine’s Day Action, see http://www.cjjc.org/en/news/51-housing-justice/263-dump-the-banks

To sign up for the Occupy Bernal press list and/or obtain photos and video of the actions, see http://www.occupybernal.org/press

Organizations:

Occupy SF Housing is a coalition which includes OccupySF, SF Tenants Union, Housing Rights Committee of SF, Causa Justa :: Just Cause, Eviction Defense Collaborative, ACCE, Homes Not Jails, Occupy Bernal, and other community groups and individuals. The coalition came together to stop banks from evicting tenants and homeowners through foreclosures or through their partnerships with real estate speculators. Web: http://www.occupysf.org

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) is raising up the voices of low income, immigrant and working families across California. Web: http://www.calorganize.org

Causa Justa :: Just Cause is a multi-racial, grassroots organization building community leadership to achieve justice for low-income San Francisco and Oakland residents. Web: http://www.cjjc.org

Occupy Bernal is a neighborhood-based Occupy currently focusing on preventing the banks from throwing our neighbors out of their homes. Web: http://www.occupybernal.org

Occupy SF strives to address and confront the injustices in our society by giving voice to the 99% through direct actions. OSF is simultaneously creating a new culture based on direct democracy, diversity, sustainable communities, and respect for all peoples and the environment. Web: http://www.occupysf.org

Photos of Wells Fargo Campaign Actions Press Conference

Here are photos from the Wells Fargo Campaign Actions press conference that took place at 11:30am on February 14, 2012, at Bradley Manning Plaza (Justin Herman Plaza), organized by Occupy Bernal and Occupy SF Housing. (Thanks to Becca for snapping these photos!)

“Wild Old Women” Protest to Keep Bernal Neighbors in Our Homes

Occupy Bernal Media Advisory

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Stardust, +1 415 425-3936, press@occupywallstwest.org

Run On The Banks: No More Evictions or Foreclosures For Profit!
“Wild Old Women” Protest to Keep Bernal Neighbors in Our Homes

San Francisco – January 12, 2012 – Occupy Bernal’s “Wild Old Women” (WOW) affinity group announced another protest at the Bank of America as part of an escalating series of “Run On The Bank” actions to demand an end to for-profit evictions and foreclosures in San Francisco and beyond:

12:00-1:00pm, Thursday, January 12: Bank of America, 3250 Mission St.
Senior protestors from Occupy Bernal tell B of A to stop raising fees, pay fair taxes, and use the bailout money to stop foreclosures.

12:00 noon, Saturday, January 14: Plaza above 16th St Mission BART station
No more for-profit evictions in the Mission District!

6:00-8:00pm, Sunday, January 15: Location TBA
OccupySF will conduct a General Assembly/Town Hall Meeting in the Mission District – everyone from the neighborhood is welcome/encouraged to attend and participate in an open discussion regarding issues local to the Mission and their correlation with the Occupy Movement

All Day, Friday, January 20: Dozens of Locations Focused on SF Financial District
Occupy Wall St West actions to shut down the financial district’s banks and corporations most involved in evicting tenants and homeowners.

These protests follow on successful protests that shut down bank branches in Bernal on January 5 and the Excelsior on January 7.

To sign up for the Occupy Bernal presslist and/or obtain photos and video of the actions, see http://www.occupybernal.org/press

To sign up for the Occupy Wall St West presslist and/or obtain photos and video of the actions , see http://www.occupywallstwest.org/press

For more information, see http://www.occupybernal.org, http://www.occupywallstwest.org, and http://www.occupysf.org

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Media Coverage of Occupy Bernal Action at Bank of America Branch

In addition to the extensive television coverage, here is some other media coverage about the January 5, 2012, Occupy Bernal action at the Bank of America branch at 3250 Mission Street:

Other recent media coverage: