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AGENCY TESTIMONY
Implementation of Local Law 82 and tax lien sale reforms
5:04:34
ยท
78 sec
Commissioner Niblack discusses the passage and implementation of Local Law 82, which reforms the tax lien sale process.
- The law aims to ensure property owners who can pay do so, while assisting struggling homeowners.
- Intensive outreach efforts are underway to inform property owners of their options, including exemptions and payment plans.
- The department is working with various partners to reduce the number of property owners whose liens are ultimately sold.
Preston Niblack
5:04:34
The last time I sat before this committee, it was to discuss a significant joint accomplishment with the council, the passage of Local Law 82.
5:04:42
Thanks to the partnership of the council with special thanks to you, Chair Brannan and Councilmember Nurse, We enacted the most sweeping reforms to the tax lien sale since its inception almost thirty years ago.
5:04:55
Our goal is simple, to ensure that property owners who can pay do and to assist homeowners who are struggling to pay to get the help they need to resolve their outstanding debt.
5:05:06
Thanks to our outreach teams, we are engaged in an intensive effort right now to reach property owners who have fallen behind on their taxes, especially homeowners in low income communities and communities of color, to make them aware of what they owe and of the options available to them, including exemptions and payment plans.
5:05:24
I want to thank the DOF external affairs outreach team, the office of the taxpayer advocate, our personal exemptions unit and the staff at our business centers as well as our external partners in our outreach efforts, our sister agencies, HPD and DEP, the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, the mayor's public engagement unit and you, the city council.
5:05:44
This has been an unprecedented level of outreach and we hope to reduce even further the number of property owners whose liens are ultimately sold.