• Photos of the event
• Video of the event (more footage will be added soon)
• News report on the event from the Daily Item of Lynn

Foreclosed homeowners speak out against "holiday moratorium" on evictions, demand real change at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

In front of holiday-decorated foreclosed home, supporters pledge to block evictions

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On Tuesday, December 18, a crowd of approximately 40 foreclosed homeowners and community supporters gathered in front of a foreclosed home at 1 Witt Street, Lynn, MA to decry the "holiday moratorium" on evictions recently announced by government controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Speakers demanded major policy change at the institutions, including the immediate firing of FHFA chief Ed DeMarco and the use of principal reduction to stop foreclosures.

"This 'holiday moratorium' is a slap in the face," said Donna Woodall of Lynn, who is fighting Fannie Mae in court as they attempt to evict her from the home she bought in 2003. "What they [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] are doing is causing so many unnecessary foreclosures and so much suffering. They’ll get back to doing the same thing in the New Year. And they want credit for that?"

The hosts of the gathering, Dianne and Narsingh Bisnath, have been battling to stay in their modest home for years: first against Bank of America and now against Freddie Mac. They spoke to a crowd of supporters outside their home, with their bright holiday lights as a backdrop.

Close to a dozen families who are also battling eviction attempts by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac joined the Bisnath’s on their front porch, each lighting a candle and announcing to the crowd their intention to continue to fight for their homes.

The homeowners and members of local community group Lynn United for Change demanded specific reforms at Fannie and Freddie. "We don't need Christmas public relations stunts," said Lynn resident and Lynn United member Gabriel Emedosi. "We need new policies that will actually help people. We need a stop to the foreclosures and evictions, and we need real modifications that reset loans to current value."

Emedosi also demanded the immediate replacement of Edward DeMarco, who oversees Fannie and Freddie as Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. "That man should be fired. Congress has delayed replacing him for too long; it's time for President Obama to get rid of him while Congress is on break." DeMarco is widely perceived as blocking the more effective anti-foreclosure policies favored by housing advocates as well as the White House, such as reducing principal (resetting housing bubble-era loans to current value).

Not content to wait for policy changes that could face additional delay, supporters at the Witt Street gathering announced plans to engage in civil disobedience if Freddie Mac attempts to carry out an eviction there in the future. Just before the end of the gathering, the crowd linked arms in front of the home and sang the Civil Rights anthem “We Shall Not Be Moved.”

“We’re only here in our home for the holidays because we kept fighting even after they tried to foreclose,” noted Dianne Bisnath. “We’re determined to stay.”

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