Mayor Eric Adams once said he wanted to reform the city’s property tax system within his first year in office.
That (obviously) did not happen. But on Tuesday, the mayor testified at a joint legislative hearing on the governor’s proposed budget and told Sen. Luis Sepúlveda that City Hall is working on a proposal to address the inequities of the property tax system. It is unclear what that proposal will look like and when it will be unveiled.
City Hall did not provide details.
Meanwhile, Tax Equity Now New York’s eight-year-old lawsuit against the city over its property tax system continues. Last month, the group filed a motion seeking to force the city to make changes to how one-, two- and three-family homes, as well as condo and co-ops, are assessed, without legislation. The group hasn’t seen the proposal mentioned by the mayor.
“We find it concerning that the city feels the need to seek legislation to codify inequities rather than just use its current power to correct them,” TENNY’s Martha Stark said in a statement. “Fixing the property tax system has been a political football for five decades; court action is the only way this injustice will be addressed.”
Also worth noting from “Tin Cup Day”: First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer indicated that 500 housing units are underway, thanks to the office-to-residential tax incentive known as 467m. This must be an estimate, however, because developers can’t officially apply for the tax break until construction is complete. She also said interest in 485x, the replacement program for the property tax incentive 421a, is picking up, though she didn’t provide any updated statistics.
What we’re thinking about: Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, who is running for mayor, released a housing plan on Monday that calls for allocating $100 billion to housing. Of that, $70 billion would be raised by issuing municipal bonds. This plan relies on changes to the state’s debt ceiling and to federal caps on private activity bonds. The latter, given discussions around how the Trump administration plans to pay for planned tax cuts, does not seem likely. Send me your thoughts at kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Translations of classic Russian literature by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky do not use English words that came into use after the publication of the book being translated, according to the New Yorker.
Elsewhere in New York…
— On Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams asked state lawmakers to include more than $1 billion in this year’s budget to help pay for the city’s efforts to house asylum seekers. “Without your help, we will have to close a $1.1 billion-dollar budget shortfall for this program within 12 weeks and ask for the state’s assistance to do so,” the mayor said in prepared testimony.
— Nassau County has joined a federal program that trains and deputizes officers to make immigration arrests just as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, the New York Times reports. As of December, 135 state or local law enforcement agencies across 21 states had such partnerships with ICE. The sheriff in Rensselaer County is the only other New York-based partnership.
— City & State has started tracking endorsements in the mayoral race. On Tuesday, former Comptroller Scott Stringer announced that Rep. Jerry Nadler is supporting his campaign.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Tuesday was $11.7 million for a co-op unit at 888 Park Avenue in Lenox Hill. Serena Boardman of Sotheby’s International Realty had the listing.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was $20.4 million for a 139,143-square-foot, 155-unit apartment building located at 183-11 Hillside Avenue in Jamaica.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $20.9 million for a 5,450-square-foot townhouse at 34 West 11th Street in Greenwich Village. Deborah Grubman, David M. Adler, and Paul Albano of The Corcoran Group have the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a 21,512-square-foot, five-story shelter building, with a proposed 129 units. The property is located at 118-08 Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill. Michael Kang Architect P.C. filed the permit on behalf of Gunnveet Sandhu. — Matthew Elo