A Reduction in Foreclosures Requested Made to The Bank of America by the House Owners of Southwest Side – Part I
Posted in Foreclosures, May 19th, 2009
The Bank of America was confronted by the residential heads of Southwest Chicago community who are also a part of the Southwest Organizing Project, in order to make a positive approach to the emerging crisis of foreclosures in the neighboring regions.
A group of delegates comprising of the residential leaders went in for a 20 minutes meeting session and came out victorious with a declaration that the big shots of the bank (Andrew D. Plepler, Global Community Impact
Executive and President, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, and Robert Grossinger, Senior Vice President) will meet the delegation group in the next few days to discus the issues of retention of the residents in Southwest Chicago region. The issues also included the aspect of exorbitant loans of the bank and the discarded buildings owned by the Bank of America
According to a neighboring resident, Paul Marshilonus “We have taken an important first step in fixing the unaffordable loans that are causing the foreclosure crisis in our neighborhoods, But this is just the beginning and we have a long way to go to ensure families are able to stay in their homes.”
Barbara J. Desoer stated that “None of us can resolve this crisis alone. But I am confident that working together we can build a solid future for homeownership – based on responsible, sustainable lending practices that help consumers make the right decisions for themselves and their families. The reason Bank of America is committed to partnering with you is simple: We don’t succeed unless our communities succeed.”
The year 2008 since January has experienced the foreclosures of approximately 3000 houses or may be more than that in the locality of Southwest Side and Bank of America is itself responsible for commencement of maximum foreclosures in the first stage itself.
According to Rabbi Joshua Salter a member of the Southwest Organizing Project, “Bank of America is no longer just a bank, it’s a landlord. They and the other banks now own hundreds of vacant, boarded homes in our community – homes that used to belong to good families and good neighbors. It is more than just an economic crisis for us. Recently, a young student named Alex Arellano was found murdered in the gangway of a vacant home in our neighborhood, a home that had a countrywide loan. Perhaps it would have been different if there had been a family still living there.”
This gives us a clear picture of the level of emotional turmoil the foreclosure issue has created for the residents in Southwest Chicago.
