Eviction Blockade For Mary Ward, Longtime Bed-Stuy Resident, Keeps City Marshals at Bay [PHOTOS]

It was a no-show this morning by New York City Marshals at the home of Bed-Stuy resident Ms. Mary Ward, a victim of a predatory lending scheme, as more than 100 residents and housing activists created a blockade around her home to prevent her eviction.

Thanks to a last-minute deal brokered by New York State Assemblywoman Annette Robinson, the 82-year-old great grandmother may not have to leave the home she’s lived in for the past 44 years—at least, not just yet.

In 1995, Ms. Ward took out a $80,000 loan against her one-family frame house after finding a flyer in her mailbox from Delta Funding.

Of the $10,000 she was promised in cash up-front, Ms. Ward would only see $1,400. She tried to rescind the loan the next day. But over the next ten years, the mortgage was bounced from bank to bank, ballooning to an astronomical $200,000.

Delta Funding is now defunct. Two years after Delta made the deal with Ms. Ward, the feds sued the lender for violating the civil rights of thousands of minority residents in Brooklyn and Queens by enticing them into loans they could not afford.

Head over to Patch for the full story, and check out pictures from Friday's blockade, below:

Comments

[quixmar]

04:10 AM on 08/23/2011

I'm taking a lot of grief for my view on this and I again ascert that it's about personal responsibility. The story clearly states that she was enticed into a loan she could not afford. She made the decision to sign knowing she could not repay it. Blame tha banks. The government forces banks to lend money that cannot be repaid then blames the banks for it.

The justice Department is right now going after a bank in the mid-west for "Not lending to people who do not qualify." Here we go again folks! The Dems are at it again! If you don't qualify, it's because of that and NOT your race. Get over it!

[smile200]

07:18 PM on 08/23/2011

She owned the house. The company scammed her.

[Each1Teach1]

05:14 PM on 08/22/2011

Wow, in a democracy like this one has become, the little person needs many, many friends.

[kingjohn1956]

10:29 PM on 08/21/2011

In this great country of ours there are more theives who sit behind a big desk,wear suit an tie,an weild a pen or one of these keyboards. They steal from people who can't afford to get legal help before they make decisions that they don't understand.Money grubbing bankers have this country by the family jewels an are not letting go

[bluguy8]

05:00 PM on 08/21/2011

She should have known better , BUT whoever scammed her on this should be arrested. Their name is on that paperwork

[jthor]

04:03 PM on 08/21/2011

no one should leave their homes until these thieves (the predatory lenders) are all in jail.

[nappyman]

10:24 AM on 08/21/2011

Find the people that ran this company and drop 'em off in bed stuy, thats what I say. That will make some banker or crook rethink the next time they try to screw the elderly or target minorities.

[jerseyrambo]

10:13 AM on 08/21/2011

How does $1,400.00 balloon into $200,000?

[quixmar]

04:15 AM on 08/23/2011

The loan was $80,000.00 and of the "upfront money of $10,000.00" promised - came the $1,400.00 in cash. The story doesn't tell us about where the rest of the money wound up. The $200,000.00 comes from the money not being repaid. If you don't make the payments, the interest on the outstanding money keeps compounding. The result was the $120,000 increase from the original $80K.

[ebanks84]

10:11 AM on 08/24/2011

It was a total scam perpetrated on an old woman who "they" knew didn't know what "they" were doing. I'm sure they made this women believe that it was in her best interest and at her age, she probably thought they were being nice and doing what she needed. They need to be put in jail for what they did to her.

[loveis22984]

01:41 AM on 08/21/2011

it is nice to have friends. Obviously this woman is well loved and respected.

[brooklyncitizen]

10:33 PM on 08/20/2011

Good to see/ too many older folks lost their homes to greed and malfeasance.
We have too many homeless folks in NYC and it is unconscionable

[Anastasia Giselle]

06:36 PM on 08/20/2011

I'm proud of my former neighborhood Bed-Sty for standing strong and rallying for her. I'm glad that she was not evicted, the loan baiters should be thrown in jail. This is a sad story but I'm sure it's a dime a dozen, especially in this failing economy.

[Stand Up for your Belief]

12:26 PM on 08/20/2011

This is sad on soooo many levels. Where do I begin?

[teacher2be33]

12:15 PM on 08/20/2011

I am glad for this woman because I am being jacked around by a bank notorious for foreclosing on people while they have you believing they ar helping you. I hope she can keep her home and somehow pay her loan off. If I had any kind of decent money myself I would do it for her......after all she is an elder. Kicking her out into the street is not the thing to do to anyone.

[Edward Wilkes]

10:21 AM on 08/20/2011

I highly commend these human-beings for standing up!

[Stand Up for your Belief]

12:25 PM on 08/20/2011

Me too!

[ThinkGlobal]

11:13 PM on 08/19/2011

Disgraceful that this could happen to an elderly woman in America. Let this be a warning to everyone throw away all unsolicited mail that falls in your mailbox and immediately hang up on anyone calling your telephone you don't know.

[Stand Up for your Belief]

12:26 PM on 08/20/2011

I am with you on that. Greedy people will do anything for a dollar bill. It is truly sad.

[quixmar]

08:23 PM on 08/19/2011

Bottom line: People should take responsibility for their own actions. If you cannot afford to repay a loan, don't borrow the money! I have a mortgage (which has since changed), and I received an offer for a lower interest rate (naturally you refinance and the bank makes money on the fees.) I rejected the offer, even though it would have benefited my family. Why? The bank sent the offer via UPS. Why is that a problem? Well, if something shady is going on, and it didn't go through the mail, you cannot get them for mail fraud. Think before you sign! The law is the law, and no one was holding a gun to anyone's head to take the loan offer.

[stjosephus]

08:55 PM on 08/19/2011

If you were the victim of a predatory lender who did not even disburse your loan proceeds to you, would pack your bags and "take responsibility" for your actions by handing over your home of 40+ years? If none resist the predators among us, we will find ourselves in a society where only predators thrive. Ms. Ward, for over 15 years, has fought back. I am glad she has more courage than you do.

[quixmar]

11:44 PM on 08/20/2011

I applied for a mortgage re-fi and the amount I had to finally "pay back" was $19,000 more than what it should have been. I walked away from that, thereby not making myself a "victim" thank you very much.

[godwithin]

10:36 PM on 08/19/2011

White collar criminals should be held responsible for their crimes, what part of the facts did you not comprehend?

[quixmar]

11:45 PM on 08/20/2011

I agree with you and am not defending the lenders. They are out to make or take a buck. You need the smarts to tell yourself that "somthing ain't right here."