Across town in the Financial District on Wednesday, a broad coalition of Christian and Muslim clergy assembled outside the Wells Fargo headquarters on California Street to sprinkle ashes in a symbolic call for the bank to repent in the wake of a report from the San Francisco Assessor-Recorder’s office that showed almost 85% of foreclosures in the city had been of questionable legality.
At that moment, at 180 Vienna Street, Monica Kenney was thinking only about the next two weeks. Just that morning, Kenney had received word from Fannie Mae that her eviction had been stayed for two weeks while Wells Fargo, the bank that had originally issued her loan, and Fannie Mae, the apparently wrongful current owner of the home, worked on terms for a rescission.
A large crowd of activists, homeowners, and sympathizers, with media in attendance, gathered at Kenney’s home for a press conference to kick off what was expected to be a defense of Kenney’s home against officers from the Sheriff’s Department. The sheriffs were scheduled to arrive at 10:00 am to carry out Kenney’s eviction.
In the midst of the grim but determined atmosphere, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment activist Erin Franey received a telephone call informing her that the eviction had been pushed back for two weeks, and that Wells Fargo and Fannie Mae were working to reach an agreement for to rescind the sale of the home. When the announcement was made, the assembled crowd erupted in a cheer. Kenney and two other neighborhood homeowners fighting similar foreclosures raised their fists in celebration.
Kenney, readers may recall, was offered a forbearance on her home loan while she looked for work, and made the first $600 payment under the new terms before being told that she was in foreclosure the next day. She’s been fighting Wells Fargo and Fannie Mae, to whom the home was sold, for months. This has been the first major victory in the case, and one of only a very few in the battle against wrongful foreclosures in San Francisco.
“I’m elated,” Kenney said, “but I’m not going to be cheering until this reaches a complete resolution.” To Wells Fargo, she addressed a firm ultimatum: “Honor the agreement you made. Period.” Kenney was by turns emotional and sober, speaking calmly and collectedly with members of the media about how much of a fight may still remain, while warmly greeting and thanking her supporters and well-wishers. She left around 10:30 to speak with a lawyer about her next steps.
The assembled crowd shared in her joy. Many of them were homeowners in the neighborhood themselves, including some, like Maria Villareal and Denise Collins, who had been evicted or were in foreclosure. The victory was a shared catharsis, a validation of a struggle, and a much-needed inspiration for a flagging, wearied movement to continue the fight. Activists and homeowners who, for weeks at similar events, had been clearly making an effort to keep smiling, seemed to have had a burden lifted from their shoulders.
Across town, Wells Fargo defended itself against accusations of wrongdoing, and spokespeople discussed the disbursement of millions of dollars in grant money to California housing nonprofits, including many in the Bay Area. The spirit rang hollow, but the action itself may bear some worthy fruit. Wednesday seemed like a good day in the fight against the major banks.
It’s not over in the Excelsior, or even for Kenney. The onus is now on Wells Fargo and Fannie Mae to reach an agreement on the rescission of the sale, and if this case has taught Kenney and her supporters anything, it’s that nothing is final until it’s complete. And other homeowners are still locked in the same difficult battles they had on their hands the day before. It’s not a new day. But it’s a small victory, and an all-too-rare one at that. It’s worth celebrating.
