While in New York City, Occupy protesters celebrated their 6-month anniversary with mass arrests in Zuccotti Park, protesters in San Francisco are celebrating their anti-big bank existence with legislation that will, hopefully, put an end to these egregious home foreclosures citywide.
Occupy Bernal, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, as well as the Occupy SF Housing Coalition are launching the "Occupy the Auctions/Evictions direct action campaign," asking the 99 percent to help them stop the dozens of foreclosure auctions that take place on City Hall steps each weekday.
Tomorrow, Occupy Bernal and other groups will take their complaints to City Hall, where protesters will demand city officials immediately place a moratorium on predatory bank evictions, fraudulent foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions. And they are anticipating a happy ending, as Supervisor John Avalos, who represents the
Excelsior neighborhood, is expected to introduce legislation that will bring unfair foreclosures to a halt.
Already, California Attorney General Kamala Harris has asked
lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to halt foreclosures statewide, and for principal reductions for those facing foreclosure. And as readers probably recall, San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting issued an audit last month that showed
84 percent of the foreclosures filed in the last three years "contained at least one
clear legal violation and more than 66 percent of the files contained
multiple violations." This report confirms gives occupiers just he fodder they need to force a moratorium on all evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions until
mechanisms are put in place to prevent further bank abuse.
"The banks have torn apart our communities and caused a financial and
health crisis by unjustly foreclosing and evicting our neighbors from
their homes," said Molly Martin, an organizer with Occupy Bernal."
If you are pissed about foreclosures, join these protesters on the steps of City Hall tomorrow at noon.
Follow us on Twitter at @SFWeekly and @TheSnitchSF
