NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams has lost a two-family home he owned in Brooklyn after failing to pay his mortgage for over a decade, accumulating nearly $1 million in debt, The Post has discovered. The home was seized by Bank of America following years of non-payment on a loan tied to a failed business venture.
Williams originally took out the mortgage to help finance a vegan sandwich shop in Park Slope, but the business eventually folded. In January, a state judge issued a “final judgment of foreclosure” on the home at 1392 E. 98th St. in Canarsie, siding with the bank. Court documents show Williams stopped making payments on the $389,600 loan he secured in 2006.
Despite earning $184,800 a year as public advocate, along with rental income from the property, Williams ceased paying the $1,344 monthly mortgage in 2010. This financial delinquency continued unchecked for years.
In 2014, Bank of America, which had acquired Countrywide Financial—the original lender—during the housing crisis, filed for foreclosure. A court-appointed referee later determined that by May 2023, the total amount owed had reached $784,927.13, factoring in interest and late fees.
Williams challenged the ruling in court but was unsuccessful. Last month, the house was put up for auction, but with no buyers willing to match the amount owed, the property reverted to Bank of America. According to auction.com, the outstanding debt had swelled to $944,582.
Councilman Robert Holden, a Queens Democrat who has criticized Williams in the past, was unsparing in his reaction. “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,” he said. “Like many in government, he can’t even manage his own life — so why should anyone trust him to manage the people’s business?”
Records indicate that Williams and his mother bought the Canarsie property in 2005 for $370,500. He became the sole owner one year later.
Williams has repeatedly cited unfavorable loan terms and non-paying tenants as the root of his financial troubles. His café, Earth Tonez, shuttered in 2008, just two years after he launched it with the mortgage funds.
The foreclosure clashes sharply with Williams’ public role as a defender of tenants. His office regularly publishes a “Worst Landlords Watchlist” targeting negligent property owners across the city.
“Like the very slumlords he put on his ‘Worst Landlords Watchlist,’ Jumaane Williams pocketed rent from tenants, pulled in a six-figure salary, and still failed to make basic mortgage payments on his investment property,” said Arvind Sooknanan, spokesperson for Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar, who is running against Williams in the upcoming Democratic primary. “This isn’t just bad judgment — it’s pure hypocrisy.”
The Canarsie property has also run into trouble with city agencies. In 2020, the Department of Sanitation fined Williams $300 for maintaining a “dirty area” outside the building. The fine later increased to $401 but was ultimately settled for $267.
Williams had also fallen behind on water payments, with his outstanding balance surpassing $10,000 in 2022. Records now indicate that this debt has been cleared.
Despite owning the Canarsie property, Williams doesn’t live there. He resides in Bay Ridge at the Fort Hamilton U.S. Army Garrison with his wife, a lobbyist, and his stepdaughter.
Responding to the report, Williams’ spokesperson William Gerlich said, “As has been extensively covered for a decade, the Public Advocate has an investment property in the foreclosure process, in part due to exploitative banking practices.”
“Many New Yorkers are facing much worse today – losing their family homes as a result of the affordability crisis and predatory practices – which is why the Public Advocate constantly stands up to the mayor’s rent hikes and the bad actors driving families out of our city.”
{Matzav.com}