Bed-Stuy Man's Impending Foreclosure Indicative Of Court Failing: Suit

BED-STUY, NY — Carl Fanfair could lose the Bed-Stuy brownstone where he raised his kids and nursed his wife through open-heart surgery because Brooklyn judges failed him in a foreclosure fight, a new lawsuit contends.

The Bed-Stuy dad is one of two Brooklyn homeowners to file a class-action lawsuit Wednesday against housing court judges he says should have done more to protect his rights and his Quincy Street home.

"Our home means everything to our family," Fanfair said. “We need to do everything we can to keep Black families like mine in their homes and make sure we can pass properties on to our kids."

The lawsuit — filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union in New York's supreme civil court — contends two housing court judges failed to connect a slew of Brooklyn homeowners with attorneys.

“Courts are putting vulnerable families at risk of exploitation and permanent displacement from their homes and communities,” said NYCLU attorney Terry Ding.

"With this lawsuit, we want to ensure New Yorkers have a fighting chance to save their homes."

The Office of Court Administration declined to comment on the suit.

Fanfair found himself in peril of losing the brownstone he'd owned for about 20 years when he lost his job in the COVID-19 pandemic, his attorneys say.

Odds were already stacked against Fanfair in Brooklyn, the borough that leads the city in pre-foreclosure filings, his lawyers contend.

Worse still, Kings County officials failed to connect Fanfair to Judge Cenceria Edwards — named in the lawsuit as a defendant — who might have appointed him legal representation, as was his right under state law.

The lawsuit also names Justice Lawrence Knipel, a Kings County administrative judge, whom they hold accountable for protecting the rights of their client, and those in his position.

Under the judges's jurisdiction, Fanfair repeatedly tried and failed to secure legal assistance, but requests for help from the plaintiff's attorney, courthouse officials and other lawyers went unanswered, the suit contends.

His experience is not unique, Fanfair's lawyers said. Their review of court records found 19 homeowners were not considered for court-appointed counsel on Feb. 20.

Between April and June of 2023, Edwards extended legal support to not one single person facing a legal battle similar to Fanfair's, the suit contends.

"Many pro se homeowners go through their entire foreclosure cases without attorneys to counsel them through the complicated, confusing and daunting process," the lawsuit states.

"For homeowners facing foreclosure, the difference between having a lawyer and not having one is often the difference between keeping and losing their homes."

Brooklyn leads the city in pre-eviction filings — in just the first quarter of 2023, the borough saw 614 pre-foreclosure filings, according to the suit.

Many of these foreclosures are completely avoidable, and they end up decimating families, neighborhoods and "deepening already stark racial disparities in wealth," lawyers claim.

"The harms caused by preventable foreclosures fall disproportionately on homeowners and communities of color, exacerbating an already significant racial wealth gap," lawyers claim.

Wednesday's suit goes far beyond Brooklyn, lawyers say. Brooklyn is the epicenter of a statewide surge in foreclosure proceedings after COVID-19 eviction and foreclosure moratoria expired.

Between 36-67 percent of the homeowners to face foreclosure in New York City since 2008 had legal assistance, according to the suit.

"Thousands of New York families are on the brink of losing their homes," Fanfair's lawyers wrote in the lawsuit, "mired in foreclosure proceedings that are high stakes, confusing, and intimidating."