NEW YORK, NY April 26, 2007 —The city comptroller's office has set up a hotline that will assist New Yorkers at risk of losing their homes. This is in response to an alarming rate of homeowners who say they can't pay their mortgages. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports.

REPORTER: Foreclosure filings in the city are set to exceed 15-thousand - double the number last year. That's according to a local non-profit studying the problem. Minority neighborhoods such as areas of South Jamaica in Queens and East New York in Brooklyn have been hardest hit. City comptroller Bill Thompson says 10 people will be working the hotline.

THOMPSON: My staff will research individual's cases and make appropriate referrals to non-profit organizations certified by the U.S. office of Housing and Urban Development.

REPORTER: Thompson says caseworkers will help homeowners exercise their options such as refinancing with other lenders and stretching their payments out in order to save their homes. Non-profit groups are also expected to do door to door outreach to find people in need of assistance. for WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez