Queens Foreclosure Auction Can’t Face the Music, Cancels

By Nathanial Mahlberg (Protest Chaplain - NYC)

Today I had the honor of working with other members of Occupy Faith and the Protest Chaplains (many from Judson Memorial Church, Union Theological Seminary, and St. Mary in the Upper West Side) along with members of  Organizing4Occupation (O4O), Occupy Wall Street (OWS), and the Raging Grannies to prepare to peacefully stop the seizure of homes by singing during a foreclosure auction in Queens.  Communities have successfully used this beautiful and powerful tactic to defend the human right to housing against the greed of banks in auctions throughout New York and other cities. This time the auction officials could not face the music and cancelled the auction just before it was to begin.  We had all filed into the courtroom prepared to sing the now-famous song, “Listen Auctioneer,” despite the relatively heavy police presence.  Our success was easier than we had expected.  Now we can turn to continuing to build this movement of non-violent defense of those suffering under the ongoing housing crisis.  Unchecked greed and usury precipitated this crisis, and tepid legislative measures have offered little remedy. It is up to communities to step up and boldly help each other. As a Community Minister at Judson Church and a seminarian at Union Theological Seminary, I was pleased to have organized with faith groups for this particular action.  As we conducted our preparations I could be honest that my motivations were rooted in the compassion taught by my religion.  “We are a Jubilee people,” I said. “We live on

behalf of the true purpose of God’s creation, which is to provide for the nourishment, well-being, and shelter of all of God’s creatures. The time to return to this purpose, the time of Jubilee, is long overdue.”