From left to right: John Schoettler, Vice President for Global Real Estate at Amazon, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, and Mayor Bill de Blasio at the November 13, 2018 Press Conference. Image Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
The project will bring tens of thousands of new jobs, billions in tax revenue, and investment in infrastructure, City says. On November 13, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that Amazon has selected Long Island City, Queens for one of its two new corporate headquarters. The City has been steadily increasing investment into Long Island City, with more than $2.4 billion of planned infrastructure investments and a recently announced $180 million investment for new schools, open space, and transportation. Long Island City is located across the East River from Midtown Manhattan and the Upper East Side, at the western tip of Queens. (more…)
Three-City owned sites will be developed to provide affordable housing, art and media centers, and commercial space. On July 26, 2018, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced plans for nearly 900 affordable homes in Brownsville, Brooklyn. This announcement updates the commitments made in the Brownsville Plan, which originally included building 880 units on three-City owned sites and infrastructure upgrades. According to HPD, the Plan is the result of a community-driven process to identify neighborhood goals, form strategies to address local needs and find resources to fill gaps in service. The Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, the NYC Department of Transportation, and the NYC Housing Development Corporation are working together with HPD on the Brownsville Plan. (more…)
Michele Coleman Mayes
Michele Mayes, a natural-born leader, has served a wide variety of institutions during her professional journey. Mayes was born in California and attended both college and law school at the University of Michigan. Her legal work experience included stints in the public sector, private sector, and today, at a non-profit. Mayes served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney both in Detroit, Michigan and Brooklyn, New York. Later in her career Mayes served as the executive vice president and general counsel at Allstate Corporation. She joined the New York Public Library in August 2012. (more…)
Vacant Landmarks warehouse at 337 Berry Street. Image credit: Google
The proposed building would provide low income housing and community-oriented facilities. On August 19, 2015, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on a Department of Housing Preservation and Development application to develop an eleven-story building for both commercial and residential use. The proposal would demolish an existing Landmarks Preservation Commission warehouse at 337 Berry Street in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn and replace it with a 15,000 square-foot mixed use building. The Commission is expected to issue a decision on the application by mid-October of 2015.
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Lincoln Center, with properties valued at $1.1 billion, is exempt from property tax as a cultural institution. Image credit: Matthew Bisanz
A long-standing feature of American tax policy is the exemption granted to nonprofit organizations, the largest of which is the exemption from local property taxes. The exemption, with origins back to the 18th century, is widespread. Among the 50 states, 17 state constitutions mandate property tax exemptions for charitable organizations, 25 authorize the legislature to give exemptions, and eight do not address the issue. New York State establishes two classes of exemptions for nonprofits: mandatory property tax exemptions apply to religious, educational, hospital, mental health and certain other charitable institutions; permissive exemptions are given to most other nonprofits, but localities may remove them. New York City has not passed any limiting local legislation.
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