[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4711]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 PRAISING HOUSING PARTNERSHIP TO PROMOTE HOMEOWNERSHIP IN UNDERSERVED 
                          BROOKLYN COMMUNITIES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. YVETTE D. CLARKE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 1, 2008

  Ms. CLARKE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to give praise to the State 
of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) and NeighborWorks America for 
their commitment to form a partnership to promote homeownership in 
underserved neighborhoods in the great state of New York. This 
partnership will increase awareness of SONYMA products in low-income 
and minority neighborhoods, which have been the most effected by 
predatory lending and the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
  Through the Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City, many 
communities including Flatbush, Brooklyn, will receive the much needed 
outreach and access to affordable mortgage products from reliable 
institutions. Today, I enter into the Record an article published by 
the Brooklyn Daily Eagle highlighting the efforts of the partnership in 
the advancement of homeownership in underserved communities.

            [From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 30, 2008]

    Groups Team up to Promote Homeownership in Underserved Brooklyn 
                              Communities

       New York.--The State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA), 
     which offers low cost mortgages to first-time homebuyers, and 
     NeighborWorks' America, a national nonprofit 
     dedicated to promoting homeownership, have formed a 
     partnership to promote homeownership in underserved 
     neighborhoods in the state, including several in Brooklyn.
       Under the one-year $450,000 agreement, NeighborWorks 
     America's Northeast District and six local New York 
     NeighborWorks' organizations will work with SONYMA 
     to increase awareness of SONYMA's products in low-income and 
     minority neighborhoods. In the city, NHS of New York City is 
     one of the NeighborWorks network organizations participating 
     in the program and it covers all five boroughs, including 
     Brooklyn. NHS will be reaching out to help people buy homes 
     with SONYMA mortgages in Brooklyn's target areas--Sunset 
     Park, Williamsburg, Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville 
     and Flatbush.
       ``This unique partnership with NeighborWorks' 
     offers a tremendous opportunity to boost the visibility of 
     SONYMA's programs in communities where they could do the most 
     good,'' said Priscilla Almodovar, SONYMA president and CEO. 
     ``Homeownership, when done responsibly, creates strong 
     neighborhoods and stable families.''
       Said Deborah Boatright, Northeast District director of 
     NeighborWorks, ``Now more than ever, low-income and minority 
     communities need access to affordable mortgage products from 
     a trusted source like SONYMA. It is these very communities 
     that have been the most impacted by predatory lending and the 
     sub-prime mortgage crisis.''

                          ____________________