Dear New Yorkers,
It’s not every day that people from the north Bronx and the South Shore of Staten Island stand together against injustice and commit to working together for change. But that’s just what happened here at the Municipal Building on Thursday morning, when I stood with advocates, homeowners, and elected officials from all across our city to kick off a campaign for comprehensive property tax reform.
Watch the campaign kickoff:
|
|
Property taxes account for approximately one third of New York City’s budget—this is the revenue that funds our schools, streets, and sanitation services. But property taxes are anything but fair, much less easy to understand.
Homeowners on Staten Island, in Southeast Queens, and the North Bronx all pay significantly higher tax rates than I and my neighbors in Park Slope do. Meanwhile rental buildings are taxed at roughly double the rate of condos and coops, entrenching expensive and inefficient tax breaks like 421-a that subsidize market-rate rental development at a time when affordable housing is urgently needed. (Learn more in our F.A.Q. here).
We spent last month holding town halls across the city to talk to people about their property taxes. Now, with the expiration last week of the boondoggle that is the 421-a tax break, we’re rolling up our sleeves.
|
|
Our campaign kickoff aims to bring City and State elected officials to the negotiating table in order to finally achieve fair and equitable comprehensive property tax reform. We’re building a citywide, bipartisan coalition to rewrite our property tax code in a way that levels the playing field between homeowners and incentivizes new rental housing construction while making sure our affordable housing dollars go to genuinely affordable housing.
As Council Member Joe Borelli, someone I rarely see eye-to-eye with, said: the expiration of the 421-a tax abatement is the “spark that might finally light a fire under Albany” to do the heavy lifting that reforming our inequitable property tax system requires. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix this broken system, and we can’t pass it up.
I want to stress that the goal here is a fair, affordable, and easy-to-understand property tax system. Comprehensive property tax reform must achieve equity while protecting homeowners from being pushed out of their neighborhoods, include affordable housing exceptions targeted to real affordability, and preserve labor standards. As we discuss recommendations for reform, these issues must be top of mind.
If, like me, you think that our property tax system does not represent the values that New York City holds dear, sign on to join our campaign and share your story for why you support reform. This is just the beginning—our goal is to bring people together in agreement around a plan for reform by the end of the calendar year for the State Legislature to adopt.
|
|
I’ll be in touch about ways to be involved as the campaign develops. But know that I truly value the partnership we are building in order to create a fairer, more equitable city.
Yours in progress,
Brad
|
|
|
|
|
