New York City’s Public Advocate could’ve benefited from some advocacy on his behalf when dealing with the foreclosure of his Brooklyn building.
The Bank of America took Jumaane Williams’ Canarsie property at 1392 East 98th Street after Williams accumulated nearly $1 million in mortgage debt, the New York Post reported. The loan helped fund a failed business venture.
Williams took out the mortgage on the property in 2006 to bankroll a vegan sandwich shop in Park Slope, which closed in 2008. He stopped making the $1,344 monthly payments two years later, according to court records.
In 2014, Bank of America — which took over the loan from the failed Countrywide Financial — hit Williams with a foreclosure action. In the years since, the debt ballooned to $785,000 by May 2023.
In January, a judge issued a final judgment against Williams after he failed to make payments on the $390,000 mortgage. Williams appealed, but lost, leading to the home being listed for sale through a foreclosure auction. The bank took the home after nobody bid a price that exceeded the debt, which is reportedly approaching $950,000.
Williams and his mother purchased the property in 2005 for $370,500. During his ownership, the building received fines from the Department of Sanitation and for a time fell behind on the water bill.
A spokesperson for Williams said that “the Public Advocate has an investment property in the foreclosure process, in part due to exploitative banking practices.” The property was rented out to tenants.
That wasn’t sufficient to the detractors making hay of this real estate drama.
“Jumaane Williams has been paid a six-figure taxpayer-funded salary for years, yet he still couldn’t pay his bills or keep his home,” said Council member Robert Holden, a frequent Williams critic. “Like many in government, he can’t even manage his own life — so why should anyone trust him to manage the people’s business?”
Williams isn’t the only New York politician facing real estate woes. Critics have recently accused Attorney General Letitia James of owning a building that some believe should be classified as rent-stabilized.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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