NYC Banking Commission Recommends Eliminating Interest on July Property Tax Payments

The recommendation will also impact interest rates for small property owners not impacted by COVID-19. On May 13, 2020, the New York City Banking Commission recommended that the City Council create a new hardship exemption to eliminate interest on late payments for property taxes due in July for small property owners who faced financial hardship due to COVID-19. The Banking Commission is comprised of Mayor Bill de Blasio,  Department of Finance Commissioner Jacques Jiha, and … <Read More>


Comptroller Report: Property Taxes Are Increasingly Hurting Low-Income New Yorkers

Comptroller calls for an expansion of property tax relief programs in the City. On September 6, 2018, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer issued a report detailing property tax increases in the City from 2005 to 2016 and their effect on households at different income levels. The report highlights the dramatic impact that these increases have had, particularly on households with incomes below $50,000 and the inability of existing property tax relief programs to … <Read More>


Comptroller Audit Finds $10 Million Wrongly Given In Tax Abatements

Audit determined the Department of Finance improperly gave abatements to condos and co-ops owned by corporations over a four-year period.  On January 28, 2016 the Office of the City Comptroller Scott Stringer released a report of an audit conducted of the Department of Finance.  In the final report, the Comptroller’s Office found the Department of Finance wrongly gave out over $10 million worth of property tax abatements to corporate-owned condominums, co-ops, indoor parking spaces, … <Read More>


Comptroller Stringer Releases Plan to Address City’s Affordable Housing Problems

Universal Affordable Housing would require 25 percent permanently low-income affordable housing in all new development with ten or more units. On January 29, 2020, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer announced a citywide housing strategy to fundamentally realign the City’s approach to the housing crisis. The strategy, coined Housing We Need, will include a universal requirement for 25 percent permanently low-income affordable housing in all as-of-right developments with at least ten units.


Comptroller Releases Retail Vacancy Report in Response to City Planning’s Report

Comptroller’s office analyzes other sources of data, concluding retail vacancy is citywide problem. On September 25, 2019, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released a report regarding New York City’s retail vacancy crisis. Comptroller Stringer’s report is intended to fill a void in unexplored data from City Planning’s August 8, 2019, analysis of the same topic.


Comptroller Audit Finds that HPD Review of Affordable Housing Sponsors Was Effective

Comptroller audit finds that HPD’s controls to ensure that housing incentives were rewarded to qualified applicants were largely effective. On June 27, 2017, the Office of the city Comptroller Scott Stringer released a report of an audit of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The audit sought to evaluate whether HPD had adequate controls to ensure that its housing incentive projects were properly awarded to property owners and developers that qualified for the program, … <Read More>