A Brooklyn homeowner who spent 23 years paying off his mortgage woke up to find contractors drilling through his locks — all because of a $5,000 water bill he says he knew nothing about.
Filmore Brown's three-unit building, worth $800,000, was foreclosed and sold at auction after New York City transferred his unpaid water debt to private investors. The investors then moved to seize his property over a debt amounting to less than 1% of the home's value.
"I don't want anybody to go through what I'm going through. It's more than I can bear," Brown told ABC 7. "I cannot eat, I cannot drink, and I cannot sleep." Brown, who worked seven days a week to pay off his mortgage by 2019, insists he would have paid the $5,057.71 bill had he known about it. While city officials claim notices were sent and court documents were served in November 2020, Brown says he never received them.
The case has drawn attention from local lawmakers, with NYC Councilmember Chris Banks calling it "a profound injustice." The NYC Department of Finance defended its practices, telling ABC 7: "Our goal is never to see a homeowner lose their property." The department cited recent reforms aimed at preventing such situations by giving property owners more time and resources to resolve debts.
Brown's attorneys are fighting to save his home, while lawmakers have called for an official investigation into the matter. His attorney, Yolande Nicholson, told ABC 7: "There needs to be more done to make sure that these hardworking older people who paid off their mortgage and have fixed incomes don't get into that kind of rut."
