“The governor and New York State Legislature should begin a process of discarding all property tax abatements that primarily serve the interests of landlords and developers (not tenants), and end the patchwork of other taxes required to make up the subsequent lost revenue from them.”
What exactly did state lawmakers do before starting their nearly seven-month break? Here’s a rundown.
” We propose a new hybrid financing model that would combine a land value tax (LVT) and community land trusts (CLTs) to address New York’s changing fiscal environment as well as the housing needs of working families.”
“It’s pretty dreadful,” one housing advocate said. “The governor decided to-go drinks and a stadium in Buffalo were more important than housing the homeless and marginalized New Yorkers.”
There’s no question 421a has fueled development—nearly 117,00 units built since 2010 have qualified for the abatement. But over the past two years, the vast majority of income-restricted units were priced for people earning far more than the city median income.
“The governor’s bill maintains many of the core aspects of 421-a that have been vital to our city’s economic success and is a positive first step.”
In her State of the State plan, the governor pitched “a different kind of abatement program” to replace 421-a, which critics see as a developer-friendly policy that siphons nearly $2 billion per year from the municipal property tax pool.
To sell 550 Vanderbilt luxury condos, they’d piggyback onto affordable building well down the block.
‘
While I applaud the larger conversation taking place around homelessness in New York City and how to prevent it, we need to broaden the discussion to include citizens who are living paycheck to paycheck.’
It’s just one parcel in a city undergoing dramatic development. But here is the view from the Lower East Side on what the departure of a neighborhood supermarket means.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
