Defend the Lennon-Griffin family from a Fannie-Mae eviction with Take Back the Land- Rochester

Take Back the Land- Rochester is making a call to action to defend the Lennon-Griffin family from foreclosure related eviction by Fannie-Mae, the single largest recipient of bailout money at $90 Billion(1). TBL- Rochester calls on you to call one or more of the Rochester, NY officials below and ask them to stop the eviction of the Lennon-Griffin family.

For the last 7 years, Catherine Lennon and her extended family of 11 have lived at 9 Ravenwood Ave., in Rochester, NY. After Catherine's husband, and family breadwinner, died of cancer, Countrywide Mortgage- which was absorbed by Bank of America and received an $8 Billion bailout- refused to renegotiate the mortgage, sending the family's home into foreclosure. In 2010, Bank of America sold the house to Fannie-Mae, who is now seeking to evict the Lennon-Griffin family, including 7 children, ages 2 to 11.

While the eviction was set for Monday, March 14, 2011, Take Back the Land- Rochester organized an eviction defense, where dozens blockaded the home, effectively holding off the eviction for more than a week. This “Positive Action” campaign is not a sit-in, but rather a “live-in” for the human right to housing.



WATCH ROCHESTER 8 NEWS COVERAGE HERE

Rochester, NY is overrun with vacant, boarded up homes, while families struggle to find living space. As such, TBL- Rochester is calling on Fannie-Mae to negotiate a solution to this standoff which does not result in the eviction of this family.

Take Back the Land- Rochester is calling on supporters to call local Rochester officials and ask them to stop the eviction and make Fannie-Mae negotiate with the Lennon family. Ryan Acuff provided these numbers, so please call one or more of the following:

Rochester Marshall responsible for evictions: Sande Macaluso at 585-544-4888

City Council member for the district: Dana Miller at 585-428-6048

Mayoral candidate Bill Johnson at 585-336-9921

Mayoral candidate Tom Richards at 585-697-0924

Mayoral candidate Alex White at 585-315- 7687

Take Back the Land- Rochester is part of the Take Back the Land- Movement, a trans-local network of independent organizations devoted to elevating housing to the level of a human right and securing community control over land through Positive Action campaigns. Click for more information about Take Back the Land- Rochester or watch this video about the Take Back the Land- Movement.

1. http://projects.propublica.org/bailout/list/simple