Mark-Viverito scales down property tax reform ambitions

Melissa Mark-Viverito, once a property tax reform radical, is bowing to political reality, admitting that she’s now pursuing more limited goals.

The City Council speaker, speaking at an event Thursday, maintained that the city’s real estate tax system was “crazy” and “really, really unfair,” but acknowledged that the complete overhaul she pursued in 2014 is unlikely to happen any time soon, Politico reported.

“Initially I had indicated some interest in taking a look at this. As with anything, you have to figure out where your priorities are, and for me,” Mark-Viverito said, according to Politico. “I think right now restructuring the whole system is not something that I have immediately on the horizon in terms of addressing.”

Back in 2014, Mark-Viverito had called for a full overhaul of the city’s tax system, saying it was “outmoded” and calling for a “more equitable and transparent” approach.

The commission that emerged from that effort, now led by Council Member Julissa Ferreras, focuses, more modestly, on studying tax breaks and tax incentives on commercial projects. [Politico] – Ariel Stulberg