 NEDAP News | Vol. 1 Issue 10 | October 2006
Welcome to the October edition of NEDAP News
Join Us for NEDAP's 10th Anniversary Celebration on Dec. 7!
Join the NEDAP family at our 10th Anniversary celebration as we proudly honor the following organizations for all they've done to support NEDAP's work and promote economic justice in NYC:
- Fish & Neave IP Group of Ropes & Gray, LLP
- Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union
- New York Foundation
- Women in Prison Project
NEDAP's 10th anniversary celebration will be held on December 7th, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 pm, at the Housing Works Used Book Store Cafe, at 126 Crosby Street, in Manhattan. Keep an eye out for the invitation, or RSVP now.
NEDAP Files Federal Lawsuit against Debt Collectors
NEDAP filed a federal lawsuit last month on behalf of five lower income New Yorkers, alleging that two debt collection firms engaged in unfair and deceptive practices, in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The lawsuit, which NEDAP filed with South Brooklyn Legal Services, alleges that debt collectors Pressler and Pressler, LLP, and Palisades Collection, LLC, violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in collecting old debts allegedly owed to AT&T Wireless, which went out of business when it merged with Cingular in 2004. CLICK HERE for press release.
Do you know someone who has been sued by Pressler and Pressler and Palisades Collection for an AT&T Wireless debt? If so, please contact NEDAP Staff Attorney Claudia Wilner for more information about the case.
Going Public: NEDAP Testifies at State Hearings
NEDAP was invited to testify at four public hearings in October:
- Deyanira Del Rio provided testimony at the NYS Assembly hearing on bank's discontinuance of money transmitter and check casher accounts.
- Sarah Ludwig testified before the NYS Assembly Banks and Consumer Affairs Committees, presenting NEDAP's maps and describing how high-cost financial services harm NYC communities. Saara Nafici testified on behalf of New Yorkers for Responsible Lending (NYRL).
- Saara Nafici provided testimony at the NYS Assembly hearing on the need for disclosure of insurance data and creation of an insurance investment fund in New York State.
- Claudia Wilner testified before the NYS Assembly Committees on the Judiciary and Consumer Affairs and Protection and offered proposals on how to best protect consumers against unfair and deceptive debt collection practices. Her testimony was featured in the Buffalo News.
Immigrant Banking Surveys - Get Involved!
NEDAP and the NYC Immigrant Financial Justice Network are making an end-of-year push to finish gathering information about immigrant New Yorkers' financial services experiences and needs. Building on hundreds of surveys gathered so far, NEDAP and the Network are asking groups to schedule surveys at their organizations, and/or request a training on immigrants' financial services rights. Survey findings will help support local campaigns to improve access to banking, lending and money transfer services for immigrants.
If you are interested in participating in the survey project, contact Dey Del Rio at NEDAP.
Community Training Roundup
Highlights of NEDAP's community workshops over the last month include:
- In October, NEDAP staff trained more than a thousand people and dozens of organizations on how to identify and avoid predatory lending practices. NEDAP conducted the presentations at town hall meetings and workshops hosted by:
- The Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning
- Cambria Heights Civic Association
- Margert Community Corporation
- NYC Councilwoman Darlene Meally
- The Teamsters Local 237
- The Queens Borough Public Library
- The Queens Borough Library Adult Learning Center
- NYC Housing Preservation and Development
- Cypress Hill Local Development Corporation
- The NYC Comptroller's Office - Community Banking Forum
- NEDAP made a presentation at the quarterly meeting of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) New Alliance Task Force, on how immigrant neighborhoods are targeted for high cost financial services and credit, and shared preliminary findings of its immigrant banking survey.
- NEDAP trained ten community groups to teach its Financial Literacy & Justice curriculum in their neighborhoods, at a training sponsored by Citizens for NYC.
- Sarah Ludwig served as keynote speaker at the Chicago CRA Coalition's annual meeting, hosted by the Woodstock Institute.
- NEDAP and the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union (LESPFCU) conducted a workshop for the African Services Committee on Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) and related tax and banking issues for immigrants.
NEDAP News is the monthly e-newsletter of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project - www.nedap.org. |
