First the good news. Delayed by delays and then shelved for a year due to the COVID pandemic, Mayor de Blasio’s long trumpeted Commission on Property Tax Reform is back!
The Commission recently announced it would resume holding virtual hearings in all five boroughs to make recommendations on how best to fix New York City’s inequitable property tax system.
The bad news is that our current mayor will no longer be in office to live up to his commitment by the time the Commission publishes its final report.
We started 2020 by finally making some progress on reforming New York City’s badly busted property tax system. Then COVID hit. Now, the dire need for this Commission and the urgency for it to complete its work has never been more clear.
City Hall must have a comprehensive plan to amend New York’s property tax system in a way that makes assessments more reflective of the real value of homes and less permissive of high-value properties in certain neighborhoods to pay a significantly undervalued share.
