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Q&A
Council Member Narcisse discusses property tax issues and reform with Commissioner Niblack
3:47:41
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4 min
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Council Member Mercedes Narcisse raises concerns about property tax inequities in her district, particularly affecting retirees and fixed-income residents. Commissioner Preston Niblack responds by explaining the city's plans for property tax reform, including proposals to address assessment gaps and provide relief for low-income homeowners.
- Niblack outlines key components of the proposed reform, including a homestead exemption and a circuit breaker to cap property tax payments based on income.
- The discussion highlights the need for fair taxation based on market value and the importance of programs like the Senior Citizen Homeowner Exemptions.
- Both parties agree on the importance of helping long-time residents stay in their homes despite rising property taxes.
Mercedes Narcisse
3:47:41
good afternoon, and thank you chair.
3:47:45
I I'm not so sure.
3:47:46
I was not here and I could not hear everything, but I was coming.
3:47:49
But one of the things, I live in the area that, small property owners, though we're talking about, mostly my district actually because I start from Canarsie, Flatland, Georgetown, Bergen Beach, Milveston, Milan, and Marine Park, Garrison Research and Ships at Bay.
3:48:05
So we have those kind of property taxes that killing especially the retiree that's on fixed income.
3:48:12
An assessment of those home have not been done.
3:48:14
I've been trying myself to bring finance and thank you because I've been bring bringing the team to try to help the people in my community.
3:48:22
But what I have seen that, it's a gap.
3:48:26
Like, you can have a house in Canarsie.
3:48:29
You're paying taxes much more than somebody that have I'm sure I don't I hope you didn't hear that before.
3:48:34
And, that I'm not, I'm not repeating it and you have to answer over and over.
3:48:39
But the gap is so wide.
3:48:41
Like, you can have somebody that have a property that is cost much less and they're paying more taxes while you have someone that have a 1,000,000 to $1,000,000 home paying less.
3:48:51
And the assessment isn't being done and the awareness is not being there.
3:48:55
So therefore, it's forced a lot of home being in foreclosure and especially when you're talking about the black and brown communities.
3:49:02
So what are you doing in your capacity to try kind of mitigate that to make sure that New Yorkers that work so hard that invest in the New York City area not forced to be out?
3:49:15
Yeah.
Preston Niblack
3:49:15
I mean, I I appreciate very much what you're saying, and we're very aware of it.
3:49:22
This issue is really at the core of the the property tax reform, that the mayor is, you know, mayor's proposal will account for.
3:49:33
This problem primarily derives from the caps on assessed value growth, which means that in gentrifying districts, or districts that are are growing at a faster where market values are growing at a faster rate, they're going to pay lower tax rate effective tax rates.
3:49:48
They're going to pay the same nominal tax rate, but lower effective tax rates than, people who may have lived in their same home in Canarsie or another neighborhood for a long time, and that's fundamentally, unfair.
3:50:01
And, in order to fix it systematically, we're gonna want to, you know, we're planning to pursue reform that will essentially fix that problem and tax everybody, you know, based on their sales based market value so that there are fair levels of taxation.
3:50:20
Another dimension of the tax reform proposal that we are going to pursue is there are 2 benefits.
3:50:29
1 is a homestead exemption, which exempts a portion of the home from tax, so that lowers the tax rate on lower value homes, and also a circuit breaker, which gives, which puts a cap on how much of your income you pay towards property taxes.
3:50:46
That, to me, is one of the most crucial and important, components that will help create equity and especially address the issue of people whose tax burdens who are on fixed incomes or low incomes and whose tax burdens are rising faster than they can pay them.
3:51:00
And I think that's a, you know, that's missing right now in our property tax system, and it's something that we wanna, include we plan to include in our in our reform proposal.
Mercedes Narcisse
3:51:12
Does it sound like is this music to my ears?
3:51:15
Because I'm very concerned about, the communities that invested so much in the city of New York, and as you get older, you're being actually pushed out.
3:51:26
Those are the remedy that will actually help us to get the seniors to hold their home in the community that they work so hard for.
Preston Niblack
3:51:35
And I'll just add, council member, you know, we I'm sure you know about senior citizen homeowner exemptions program, but we are more than happy to assist, your office with any outreach events or any other way that we can help make sure that people who are eligible for that program get enrolled.
3:51:50
So please feel free to contact us anytime, and we'll we'll try and be helpful there.
Mercedes Narcisse
3:51:56
Yeah.
3:51:56
Your office has been helpful that in all honesty.
Preston Niblack
3:51:58
Glad to hear it.
Mercedes Narcisse
3:51:58
It's just those things that we need to address that is not to the preview to actually do those things, but if we put it from the leadership, we actually can help people to stay in their home.
3:52:11
Yep.
3:52:11
They can only do as much as they can do that allowed to, but those, we spoke about, those are the things that will help out.
3:52:17
Thank you.
Preston Niblack
3:52:18
Thank you.
Mercedes Narcisse
3:52:19
Thank you, chair.