What's happening
This bill amends New York City law to keep mortgage foreclosure notice information confidential and limits its use to foreclosure monitoring and prevention.
Why it matters
Limits public access to foreclosure notice data. By making foreclosure notice information exempt from disclosure under New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), the bill ensures that details about pending foreclosures cannot be obtained by the general public, data brokers, or for-profit entities, which could reduce the risk of predatory practices targeting vulnerable homeowners.
Directs use of sensitive information for public good. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is restricted to using this foreclosure data only for monitoring foreclosure trends, analyzing patterns, and connecting at-risk homeowners with foreclosure prevention and counseling services, rather than for any unrelated governmental or commercial purposes.
Allows targeted sharing with trusted partners. The bill authorizes HPD to share foreclosure information with housing counseling agencies designated by the state’s Division of Housing and Community Renewal and with other city agencies (as already permitted under law), facilitating coordinated efforts to help homeowners without broadly exposing their information.
Protects homeowner privacy while supporting intervention. By balancing confidentiality with targeted outreach, the bill aims to protect homeowners’ privacy and dignity during foreclosure proceedings, while still enabling city agencies and nonprofit partners to proactively offer assistance to those in danger of losing their homes.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Block Foreclosure Info Release
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
8 Co-sponsors
4 Multi-sponsors
History
- Enacting clause stricken
- Referred to housing
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
721
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. GLICK, PEOPLES-STOKES, BLAKE, SIMOTAS, CAHILL, BICHOTTE, L. ROSENTHAL, LUPARDO, SEAWRIGHT -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CUSICK, ENGLEBRIGHT, GOTTFRIED, SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the disclosure of information provided in the notice to the department of housing preservation and development by a mortgagee commencing an action to recover residential real property
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 27-2109.1 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by local law number 4 of the city of New York for the year 2012, is amended and a new subdivision d is added to read as follows:
[(a)] a. 1. Any mortgagee that commences an action in a court of competent jurisdiction in the state of New York to foreclose a mortgage on residential real property within the city of New York shall provide notice to the department, in a form prescribed by the department, within fifteen days of service of the pleadings commencing such action. If such action was commenced before the effective date of the local law that added this section, and remains pending as of such effective date, notification shall be provided within thirty days of such effective date, provided, however, that no notice shall be required for actions commenced prior to February 13, 2010, regardless of whether such action remains pending as of such effective date. Such notice shall include, but need not be limited to, the following information: (i) the name of the mortgagee plaintiff commencing such action and the mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address of such mortgagee plaintiff, and, when applicable, the name of a principal or corporate officer of such mortgagee plaintiff, and the mailing address, telephone number and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00500-01-9
A. 721 2
e-mail address of such principal or corporate officer; (ii) the name of the defendant in such action; (iii) the identification of such residential real property by street address and block and lot number, (iv) the date of the commencement of such action, (v) the court in which such action was commenced, and (vi) such other information as the department may require by rule. For the purposes of this section, "mortgagee" shall mean any person that commences an action to foreclose a mortgage on residential real property including, but not limited to, a lender, assignee or mortgage loan service provider that commences such an action.
2. A mortgagee shall notify the department within fifteen days of the discontinuance of an action for which notice pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision has been received by the department, the issuance of a judgment in such action, or the sale of the real property as a result of such action.
3. The department shall maintain on its website a list of all properties with twenty or more units, identified by block and lot number along with the name, mailing address and telephone number of the mortgagee plaintiff and the name of the defendant for which notice pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision has been received. Such list shall be updated at a minimum on the first business day of each month. The department shall report on its website each three months: (i) the total number of foreclosure actions commenced during the immediately preceding three months for which notice pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision has been received by the department, disaggregated by community district; and (ii) the total number of foreclosure actions pending, for which notice pursuant to paragraphs one and two of this subdivision has been received by the department, disaggregated by community district. The department shall provide the information provided to it pursuant to paragraphs one and two of this subdivision to one or more agencies for which the department determines that such information furthers such agency or agencies' duties, including but not limited to the enforcement of section 28-210.1 of this code or related provisions, and to any other city agency upon request by such agency.
d. The information provided in the notice submitted by the mortgagee to the department pursuant to this section shall not be subject to disclosure pursuant to article six of the public officers law. All such information shall be used by the department exclusively for the purposes of monitoring the extent of residential mortgage foreclosures and the properties subject to such foreclosures, to perform analyses of the information submitted, and directing as appropriate available public and private foreclosure prevention and counseling services to owners of residential properties that are the subject of a mortgage foreclosure proceeding. The department may share information received in the notice or notices submitted by the mortgagee with housing counseling agencies designated by the division of housing and community renewal as well as with other city agencies pursuant to paragraph three of subdivision a of this section.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after June 15, 2012.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.