News & Events
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Statement on Attorney General James’ Guidance Blocking Banks And Debt Collectors From Garnishing Stimulus Checks
“We applaud Attorney General James for issuing strong guidance making clear that emergency stimulus payments authorized by the CARES Act are exempt from garnishment under New York law. Her commitment to aggressively prosecute any creditor or debt collector that garnishes New Yorkers’ stimulus payments is an example of the kind of leadership we need from…
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CBS News: Debt collectors are going after Americans’ stimulus checks—and the CARES Act allows it
CBS News — The U.S. Treasury is sending out 80 million stimulus checks this week, the first part of its effort to put cash into Americans’ hands to ride out the coronavirus pandemic. But many of those checks will never reach the people they’re intended for.
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Gothamist: “Backdoor Bailout For Banks”: Stimulus Checks Can Be Seized By Creditors And Banks
Gothamist — The $1,200 stimulus checks that began hitting millions of Americans’ bank accounts on Wednesday could turn into a “backdoor bailout” for banks and creditors—which can currently seize the payments for individuals’ existing debt under a loophole the Treasury Department has not yet addressed.
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Call Off The Debt Collectors: The Coronavirus Pandemic is No Time to Demand Payment and Freeze Bank Accounts
In the best of times, predatory debt collection is a scourge that siphons wealth from New Yorkers, destabilizes neighborhoods and perpetuates racial and economic inequality. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing debt collectors to continue to hound New Yorkers and take their money is jeopardizing people’s lives.
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Daily News, Op-Ed: Call Off The Debt Collectors: The Coronavirus Pandemic is No Time to Demand Payment and Freeze Bank Accounts
Daily News, Op-Ed — In the best of times, predatory debt collection is a scourge that siphons wealth from New Yorkers, destabilizes neighborhoods and perpetuates racial and economic inequality. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing debt collectors to continue to hound New Yorkers and take their money is jeopardizing people’s lives.
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Daily News: Wanted, debt or alive: Put a pause on private debt collection during the coronavirus crisis
Daily News — At a time when millions of freshly jobless people are practicing emergency economic triage, debt collectors continue to chase judgments and seek to freeze bank accounts of those they say are in default. This is madness.
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Groups Call For Immediate Halt to Debt Collection During COVID-19, Deliver Petition to Governor Cuomo
Today, a coalition of nine groups delivered a petition, signed by more than 2,700 New Yorkers, to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, calling for an immediate moratorium on debt collection during the Covid-19 crisis, as a matter of public health and safety.
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Let’s Be Real Episode 11: New York State Community Equity Agenda Pt.1
The next four episodes of Let’s Be Real focus on the NYS Community Equity Agenda, a statewide coalition that is calling for economic development that is community-led and grounded in community wealth-building and racial and economic justice. Each episode zooms in on an Equity Agenda priority, from promoting community-controlled financial institutions to ending wealth extraction…
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(Archive) SIGN PETITION: Halt Debt Collection in NY Now!
Our team has been working remotely since the COVID-19 outbreak began in New York – feeling fortunate that we have that option. We are keeping our NYC Financial Justice Hotline open, and have received alarming calls from many New Yorkers who are being hounded by debt collectors, despite the crisis.
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The City: Court’s Halt on Filings Gives Partial Reprieve on New York Debt Collection
The City — New Yorkers facing down private debts in court will see some relief after advocates pushed Gov. Andrew Cuomo to put all collections on pause amid the coronavirus crisis.