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