New York: “Evicted Holocaust survivor gets to return to Brooklyn apartment,” by Mike McLaughlin, New York Daily News, March 3, 2010
She’s on her way home.
A 92-year-old Holocaust survivor, who was evicted from her Bensonhurst apartment, Wednesday reached an agreement with her notorious landlord that allows her to move back into her home.
“I’m happy,” said Eta Eckstein about returning to the Bay Parkway flat she’s rented for more than 40 years. “All the years that I’ve lived in this country, I’ve been in that building.”
Eckstein’s legal battle began Feb. 14 when her landlord, Morris Piller, taped an eviction notice to her front door and told neighbors she was dead – even though, at the time, she was recovering in a nursing home from a bad fall.
East Palo Alto: “Wells Fargo now biggest East Palo Alto landlord,” by Gennady Sheyner, Palo Alto Online, March 3, 2010
Wells Fargo took ownership of more than 1,800 housing units in East Palo Alto’s Woodland Park neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, officially becoming the city’s largest landlord.
The bank’s foreclosure auction for the properties, which were previously owned by Palo Alto-based firm Page Mill Properties, attracted no bidders Tuesday, said Elise Wilkinson, Wells Fargo spokesperson. As a result, Wells Fargo officially took ownership of the properties, which the bank valued at $142 million.
California: “Brown Should Follow Connecticut AG’s Lead: Go After Banks, Realtors and Lawyers that Violate Tenant Rights,” by Dean Preston, Tenants Together‚ BeyondChron, March 2, 2010
Across our state, realtors and lawyers working on behalf of banks are violating federal law by illegally pushing renters out of their homes after foreclosure. The results are devastating, with thousands of tenants being driven into homelessness and communities left with vacancies and blight. Responding to a similar pattern of illegal evictions in Connecticut, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal recently announced a new initiative to aid tenants of foreclosed properties. Blumenthal issued cease-and-desist letters warning law firms, real estate companies, banks and loan servicers to stop illegal evictions. Here in California, tenants want to know whether Attorney General Edmund G. (“Jerry”) Brown, Jr., will follow Blumenthal’s lead and take decisive actions to protect vulnerable tenants.
San Francisco: “Mayor Newsom goes after another initiative,” by Ellen Sherbert, San Francisco Examiner, March 1, 2010
Mayor Gavin Newsom is again attempting to shake up the June 8 ballot, asking the Board of Supervisors to pull a measure that would make it easier for tenants to dodge rent increases during the recession.
Newsom is delivering a letter to the Board of Supervisors today asking them to withdraw their sponsorship of the proposed ballot measure that would amend The City’s rent ordinance to allow renters who lost their jobs or had their wages cut to apply for a financial hardship, which would defer any rent increases they might face.
