Dear New Yorkers,

My friend Council Member Kevin Riley lives in and represents the Northeast Bronx, and his in-laws live in brownstone Brooklyn. They own similar homes in their respective neighborhoods, but there is one key difference: homeowners in the Northeast Bronx pay nearly four times what homeowners in brownstone Brooklyn pay in property taxes. The council member sat down with my office to explain the inequities that his family have experienced first-hand. 

If you’re a homeowner, you’re already aware of the patchwork of exemptions and abatements that make up our property tax system. The result is a hard-to-understand tax code that taxes homeowners in Manhattan at lower effective rates than those in Southeast Queens, and rental properties at nearly DOUBLE the rate of condo buildings.   

In the words of the NYC Commission on Property Tax Reform last year, our system is “opaque,” “arcane,” and “inequitable.”  

It’s why we’ve been organizing a five-borough coalition to make comprehensive property tax reform a reality. This time of year the inequity sinks in for many, as it is the period when quarterly property tax payments are due.

Our housing affordability crisis is one of the biggest obstacles to a fair and equitable recovery, and our property tax code is a key roadblock to progress. Following two years of foreclosure moratoria, New Yorkers across the five boroughs are struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments and are at risk of losing their homes, as pre-foreclosure filings are rising to pre-pandemic levels.   

It’s time to seize this moment to fix an underlying problem in our housing market: a property tax system that taxes homeowners inequitably and disincentivizes rental construction.    

We’ve suggested building on the principles and recommendations in the New York City Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform’s Final Report, including the following elements:  

• Tax 1-3 family homes, co-ops and condominiums, and small rental buildings at the same rate. Build in tax relief programs that favor primary and low-income residents and replace the current assessed value growth caps.  
• Bring tax parity to new residential constructions (both rentals and homeownership) to provide a broad, strong, fair incentive for new construction going forward.
• Establish a new, targeted affordable housing tax incentive that would match the level needed to achieve genuine affordability, rather than provide a tax exemption that underwrites both market-rate and income restricted units. This new incentive should also come along with strong labor standards to provide good jobs for New Yorkers.  

I hope you’ll join us as we take our best shot to build a fair and stable property tax system that eliminates disparities, facilitates rental development, and focuses our scarce affordable housing resources on genuinely affordable housing.   

Onwards towards tax equity,  

Brad