Mayoral-hopeful Paul Massey promised Wednesday to fight alongside Gov. Cuomo to revive 421a. But it’ll likely be a solo battle because the tax break was revived more than a month ago.
In a tweet this morning, the mayoral candidate and Cushman & Wakefield executive vowed to work with the governor to “restore the 421-tax credit in NYC.” However, the most talked-about tax break in the city was revived in April after protracted budget negotiations. The governor even held a ceremonial signing of the measure — now called Affordable New York — last week for those who may have missed its actual passage.
Massey didn’t immediately return a message left on his cellphone on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the candidate said Massey knows that the tax exemption was revived. The tweet, she said, was actually meant to convey that he wants to revive the tax break for more than five years and cut a deal that is better for the outer boroughs.
These points are not remotely articulated in Massey’s 138-character tweet.
Massey’s website also still lists the expiration of 421a as one of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “housing failures.” His stated solution to the no-longer relevant problem is to “on day one, reach out to the Governor and Legislature to restore the 421a tax credit for New York City so that we can start building housing again.”
According to the latest count, Massey’s raised $4.6 million, ahead of de Blasio’s $4.37 million. The Republican candidate has faced some criticism for his lack of specific policy differences from de Blasio, but earlier this month, he released his public safety policy. He plans to release details of his housing and homelessness policies later this summer.