PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Tobias Campbell, Member of East New York Community Land Trust
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Tobias Campbell, representing the East New York Community Land Trust and the Abolish the Tax Lien Sale Coalition, advocated for the abolition of New York City's tax lien sale system. He urged the City Council to pass Intros 782-A and 783 to improve information access for homeowners regarding tax exemptions and accruing debts.
- Campbell emphasized that the current tax lien sale system enriches speculators and fuels displacement.
- He called for replacing the tax lien sale with a system prioritizing housing stability, racial equity, and community land trusts.
- The speaker stressed the importance of passing the proposed legislation before the May 2025 lien sale to reduce the number of affected properties.
Tobias Campbell
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Good morning, committee on finance chair Brannon and all committee members.
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My name is Tobias Campbell.
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I'm a member of the East New York Community Land Trust and a lifelong New Yorker.
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I'm here with the Abolish the Tax Lien Sale Coalition, which advocates for the full abolition of the New York City lien sale, and its replacement with systems that ensure housing stability and racial equity while promoting the community land trust model.
0:45:47
For any temporary financial benefit the city might see out of the sale of tax liens, we know that ultimately, this system only serves to enrich speculators and to fuel displacement.
0:45:57
If the city cares about preserving a culturally rich and democratic New York, the tax lien sale is a kind of self sabotage, a kind of shooting oneself in the foot.
0:46:07
We appreciate the work the city council has done thus far to ameliorate the tax lien sale.
0:46:12
We're here today to call on the city council to continue that good work by passing 2 common sense bills introduced by council member nurse to ensure the New Yorkers have access to important information ahead of this year's upcoming tax lien sale.
0:46:26
Let's pass intro 782 so that along with the property tax bills they receive every 3 months, New York homeowners are also informed of the exemptions they qualify for and of how to get on the ACRIS alert system.
0:46:38
And let's pass intro 783 so that ACRIS reflects any significant accruing debts that property owners might not be aware of otherwise.
0:46:47
This way, no one will be subjected to the lien sale speculation and foreclosure simply due to a lack of knowledge.
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Making sure people have the information they are entitled to is truly the least we can do.
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Please vote on these bills so they can become law in time to help reduce the number of properties headed to the May 2025 lien sale as well as the other pieces of legislation that were discussed today.
0:47:10
And beyond making these common sense changes, we hope that the city will abolish the tax lien sale and replace it with a system of municipal debt collection that prioritizes neighborhood stabilization.
0:47:22
And, yeah, the coalition has done really good work in laying out, that alternative system.
0:47:26
Thank you.