Exclusive: Interview With First Person To Talk With Imus Post-Dismissal
NewsChannel4's Brian Thompson interviewed the first person to speak with Don Imus post-dismissal.
The Rev. DeForest "Buster" Soaries of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Sommerset, N.J., met with Imus Wednesday evening in New York City.
Soaries has been the chief negotiator of a proposed meeting between Imus and the Rutgers University women's basketball team.
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The Rev. DeForest "Buster" Soaries is pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, N.J., and former Secy. of State for New Jersey. Following the Imus incident, Soaries, a friend of Stringer, helped orchestrate a highly-publicized meeting between Imus and the Rutgers players, which resulted in an apology from Imus.
Soaries discusses Coach Stringer's leadership style and how her faith has guided her through some of life's toughest challenges, including the sudden death of her husband.
$6 Million To Rescue Foreclosed Homeowners in New Jersey
New York, New York -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLBNY) and Magyar Bank are providing $6 million to fund the Housing Assistance and Recovery Program (HARP) in Middlesex and Somerset Counties in New Jersey. HARP, offered by First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, Somerset, New Jersey, is a locally created initiative that will assist home owners with emergency housing funding necessitated by foreclosure or eviction.
Under HARP, homes in danger of foreclosure will be purchased and leased back to the homeowner for a defined period of time, allowing the homeowner to stay in the home, pay affordable rent, and have the opportunity to establish the creditworthiness needed to repurchase the property.
HARP is operated by First Baptist Community Development Corporation (FBCDC), which will provide 30% of the funds required to purchase each property, while Magyar Bank provides 70% of the funding with the Home Loan Bank funds.
Reverend DeForest "Buster" Soaries, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, anticipates that the 30% cost of FBCDC can be achieved largely through negotiations with banks that often must pay tens of thousands of dollars to execute a foreclosure on a property through a sheriff's sale.
"This is truly what community banking is all about," stated Elizabeth E. Hance, President and Chief Executive Officer of Magyar Bank. "If we help these homeowners get through some tough financial times, they will be able to remain in their homes and continue to be active in their communities. Plus, their children will remain in their current schools and not have to worry about moving to a new district. We're very pleased to partner with Rev. Soaries and First Baptist Community Development Corporation in this unique program."
"We have been partners with Magyar Bank for more than 15 years. Their commitment to this initiative reflects their special ability to adapt their normal business model to accommodate community needs. Magyar's participation in this pilot program demonstrates the best of community banking," stated Reverend Soaries.
"This is an outstanding example of a bank and a faith-based organization -- Magyar and First Baptist -- with longstanding ties and community commitment coming together to help those families who got in over their heads with unsuitable mortgages," said Alfred DelliBovi, President and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. "HARP will serve as a life preserver to give these families time to find their financial footing, obtain a suitable mortgage, remain in their homes, and keep the community strong."
HARP was launched May 1, 2008, and will be used immediately to assist 15 families caught in the mortgage riptide. A significant number of additional households are also being assessed for possible assistance through this program.
Homeowners accepted into HARP will go through an extensive financial planning and education program focusing on debt management, credit repair, homeownership counseling and financial literacy. Upon the homeowners’ completion of this program, FBCDC will review their financial status and ability to resume mortgage payments and negotiate the repurchase of the home with the homeowner.
"It is important to realize that this is not a bail-out program; rather, it is a work-out program for borrowers committed to regaining homeownership," added Ms. Hance. "Many of the potential program participants are borrowers who may not have been ready for homeownership because they did not understand all the costs associated with homeownership, or they may have been borrowers induced into inappropriate mortgage products such as subprime mortgage loans. Although Magyar Bank, like most community banks, did not make subprime mortgage loans and did not create the current foreclosure situation, we are prepared to be part of the solution. Since HARP will mostly benefit low-to-moderate-income homeowners, Magyar Bank was able to obtain some below-market-rate funding from the Home Loan Bank. We believe the HARP initiative is an innovative grassroots approach -- a model we hope will spread throughout the rest of the country."
The program will assist families with mortgage payment hardship whose incomes are at or below 115% of area median income through the Home Loan Bank's Fresh-Start Home Finance Program. Households facing the following situations will be eligible for: a mortgage interest rate that is higher than current market rates; an interest-only or adjustable-rate mortgage that has reset, or is due to reset, to an unaffordable level; a mortgage with other non-traditional terms and conditions that render the product unsuitable for a borrower's affordability means; or other circumstances that have placed the household under mortgage payment stress and at risk of default.
Magyar Bank, headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, is the principal subsidiary of Magyar Bancorp (NASDAQ: MGYR) and is a $504 million asset community bank. Magyar Bank has been serving families and businesses in Central New Jersey for over 80 years with a complete line of financial products and services, and today Magyar operates branch locations in Branchburg, New Brunswick, North Brunswick, and South Brunswick. Visit Magyar online at www.magbank.com.
The mission of FBCDC is to strengthen families and communities. Founded in 1992 (incorporated in 1993), FBCDC is a non-sectarian, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides area residents with a range of services that includes healthcare, youth development, housing, employment and job readiness skills, senior-citizen activities, and other human services. For more information about services provided by FBCDC, call (732) 247-0444.
The FHLBNY is a $109 billion, AAA-rated, Congressionally-chartered wholesale bank. It is part of the FHLBank System, a national wholesale banking network of 12 regional, stockholder-owned banks. The FHLBNY serves 296 community lenders in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The mission of the FHLBNY is to advance housing opportunity and local community development by maximizing the capacity of community-based member lenders to serve their markets.
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