Thank You From The Bottom Of My Heart!

Dear Everyone,

I find myself at a loss for words.  I can only describe the feeling I have in my heart today as a deep gratitude.  Because of all your help, I found the strength to fight when I thought it was hopeless.  I have never been so personally touched by the effort, dedication, and selflessness exhibited by you...my friends...my family...and those of you which whom I have never even met.  I find myself today feeling inspired, armed with knowledge I never knew I needed.  It is because of the actions you all showed that I must become involved in helping other victims of these injustices.  I guess what I really want to you all to know is simply THANK YOU!  In the sincerest form possible.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  

In the picture above, me and my very close friend Minoria Franks are holding both my eviction dismissal and a signed document that says I'm a resident in good standing!

With your help I have gotten back in my home and all eviction proceedings have been dismissed. Tonight I can sleep safely in the place I've called home for ten years!

Please take the time to sign other peoples online petitions by clicking here.

THANK YOU,

Irene Franzen

"I'm Home! The Chains Are Broken!"

Day two for Toni Furman's home liberation and she's still standing strong. Today there was a wave of communtiy support for Toni. Dozens of neighbors stopped by to offer help and stand guard in the yard. Cars drove by and gave supportive honks all day.

There was so much support that we decided to have a community cookout Tomorrow(6/12) at 6:30 at Toni's house(1420 Stoneliegh Hill Road Lithonia). We hope to create space to answer questions the communtiy has about Toni's story, her action, how her story connects with others in the community, ways people can support, and what folks in the community might want to do to improve life in the neighborhood.


There was one reminder today that things at Toni's home can change very quickly. A repair man for Cenlar came by and when he realized that Toni had moved back in he said he was calling the police. The police never came, but is was a reminder that another forced eviction attempt is a real possibility that could happen.



Please sign and share Toni's online petition!!

Evicted Dekalb Teacher Reclaims Her Home Today!

On May 7^th of this year, Toni Furman was in her Lithonia home when she heard someone breaking down her door.

“They kicked the back door in,” she said in an interview with Crossroads News. “I was in an upstairs bedroom trying to call for help and they told me to drop everything and show my hands.”

“They” were the six DeKalb Sheriff’s deputies who evicted her from the home on Stoneleigh Hill Road where she had lived for more than 20 years.

“They ordered me to get my clothes on and to leave,” said the substitute high school science teacher. “And they started to take my things out into the street.”

Toni hit hard times five years ago when she experienced a difficult divorce. She and her husband had lived in the home for 18 years. The divorce left Toni with the house, nothing more.

Toni immediately started to contact Cenlar, a loan servicing company, to see about getting a loan modification with no results. Eventually Toni got an extra job so that she could get closer to affording the mortgage payment.

Cenlar continued to refuse to work with Toni. Toni’s home wasn’t any foreclosure , Toni had around 100k in equity, which made for a very attractive foreclosure for Cenlar. In the end Cenlar refused her modification because he ex husband refused to sign modification paperwork, despite the fact that Toni had won the home in a divorce settlement.

Because Cenlar refused to work with Toni she became homeless and was staying with a neighbor in her community. Toni is ready to take bold action to reclaim her home despite the consequence. Toni is ready to be a voice for others struggling to simply have a place to call home.

Today at around 6:30pm Toni marched to her home at 1420 Stoneliegh Hill Road, Lithonia, with the support of other Atlanta residents active in Occupy Our Homes Atlanta and reclaimed her home of over 20 years from Cenlar. This was a brave, bold, risky move for Toni, who had never been involved in any social justice movement prior to her crisis.

There's no telling how this story is going to end, but we know it's starking lots of conversations in her community and is being covered on several local news outlets. 

Please consider signing and sharing Toni's online petition click here

Great article by Crossroads News.

Atlanta Landlord Moves to Displace Single Mother and Longtime Resident

Jaye Crawford lives in the Warehouse Lofts on rogers street in the Kirkwood community. She's rented there for close to 15 years and made thousands of dollars in renovations. It's become a living space for Jaye and her young daughter, it's also become the space Jaye runs her personal fitness training business out of.

The trouble began a year ago when new neighbors moved in with a barking dog. Unfortunately the poor dog would bark all night making it impossible for Jaye and her daughter to sleep. Eventually, after speaking with the neighbor several times, Jaye made a noise complaint. Despite the fact that the neighbors were fined for their noise violation, the barking continued. Jaye decided to go to the property manager, Hugh Trotti, with the issue.

Instead of working with Jaye, Hugh Trotti informed the longtime resident that her lease would not be renewed and that she would need to be out by the end of June. This was devastating news to Jaye as her home is not only an integral part of her work it's also in her daughters charter school district.

Rather then packing up and moving Jaye decided to fight back with the help of Occupy Our Homes Atlanta and American Friends Service Committee. Jaye has worked with the community to organize cookouts, candlelight vigils in front of Hugh Trotti's home, and published an online petition to pressure Hugh Trotti to do the right thing.

A tenant should never be displace arbitrarily from a home they have been devoted to for years. One of the values that drives AFSC's work is the belief in human dignity, that no human being should be so easily discarded.

We encourage everyone to make the following calls/emails and encourage Hugh Trotti not to displace this hard working single mother.

 We ask that you please contact her landlord, Hugh Trotti at either of these numbers: 404-427-5764
or 404-373-4035
You can also email him at hugh@theloftsource.com
You can also call the property owner Henry Finkbeiner at 406-223-3666

 
Here is a sample script you can use:
“Hi, my name is ___________ and I am calling on behalf of Jaye Crawford and her daughter who live in the Warehouse Lofts, unit 203. I’m calling to ask you to do the right thing and renew Jaye’s lease. If her lease isn’t renewed, she’ll lose her business, which is her livelihood. She and her daughter do not deserve to have their life turned upside down. And unsuspecting, new tenants don’t deserve to be subjected to an unaddressed dog barking problem. Please renew her lease so she can keep her home and livelihood. She is a timely and hardworking tenant, and deserves to remain in her home. Thank you for your time.”

Hugh Trotti has refused to renew her lease for a few possible reasons:

1) She has made thousands of dollars in repairs and improvements to her loft and Mr. Trotti wants to reap the benefits.

2). She recently took a neighbor to court (and WON) over their incessantly barking dog, which keeps Jaye and her daughter up at night. Mr. Trotti has refused to address the constant noise violations, and doesn’t want any tenants that raise issues with the way he runs the Warehouse Lofts.

Neither of these are reasons to kick a family out of their stable home.

Click her to sign the petition.

Evicted With Out Reason or Notice In Oakland

I’ve been in the Bay area the last few days attending a conference on public banking. I jumped at the opportunity to go because I’m truly interested in learning more about alternative to our current failed banking system, and it was an opportunity to visit my family in Oakland.

This afternoon I got a frantic call from my little sister Irene. She was being evicted from the home she had lived in for 10 years.

The eviction was a surprise to her and her roommate as she is totally up to date on her payments. Irene and her roommate had trouble paying her rent this past February but since she never missed a payment in her time here and it was only one month, the management agreed to a payment plan. Since then Irene has made all payments and is currently up to date on her rent. I personally have view the receipts and bank statements that confirm her payments.

This morning when Irene’s roommate stepped outside he saw a notice tacked on the front door. It was an eviction notice informing them that an eviction would be carried out today. It was the first notice they had received.

Irene immediately went to the courthouse filed and paid for a stay(with was granted), and rushed home. When she got home the sheriff had already changed the locks and the property manager wouldn’t let her in the home. She was locked out with no access to her belongings or her two cats.

After organizing on online phone/email blast to property manager and owner Bing Udinsky, several of us decided to hold a small candlelight vigil outside Bing’s home.

In the early hours of the morning, order of stay and receipt in hand, Irene moved back into her home with the support of her friends and family. Right now she is safe and sound inside her home. Her stay is good till July 5^th, we hope law enforcement will comply.

At this point we still need a lot of pressure put on the Bing Udinsky and JU Properties. Please call and email call JU property manager Bing Udinsky and demand they let my little sister Irene Franzen back in her home (1618 6^th avenue, Oakland Ca). Irene has lived there for 10 years and has made thousands of dollars in improvements. Irene literally has nowhere else to go right now and is totally paid up on her rent.

Please Call Bing Udinsky @ 510-655-3253(cell) or 510-654-7677(home) Email bingudinsky@hotmail.com

Click here to sign the online petition for Irene.

We know that Bing has begun to respond by text and email to folks claiming Irene was several month behind, that she was given notice, and that Bing had given numerous calls to Irene. There’s are all lies that make one of two things clear; 1) Bing Udinsky is purposefully misrepresenting the truth. 2) Bing Udinsky has made some sort of mistake that has put my sister in jeopardy.