Sandy property tax abatement gets OK from state legislature

Bill reduces liability to pre-storm, 2013 fiscal year amount, bars repair-related hikes

Hurricane Sandy damage
Hurricane Sandy damage

A bill protecting Hurricane Sandy victims from a property tax hike as they make repairs to their storm-damaged homes sailed through the state legislature in Albany.

The bill, pushed for by Minority Leader Vincent Ignizio and more recently New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, bars the effects of a property tax system in which home repairs are assessed at full market value and not subject to the state’s property tax cap. The legislation permits the city to grant a partial abatement of the real property taxes storm victims would have to pay, hut reducing tax liability to the pre-storm, 2013 fiscal year amount and skipping any repair-related hikes.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

“The bill our colleagues in the state Legislature have just passed will provide immediate tax relief for homeowners who have been fortunate enough to be able to repair or rebuild their homes after Sandy,”Ignizio told SI Live. “But there are thousands more still waiting for hep from NYC Build it Back, from settlements from insurance or to save enough money to complete their repairs.”

The bill, which passed both houses unanimously, is expected to win Governor Andrew Cuomo’s signature, and enables the City Council to pass a local law making the change as early as next week, a spokesperson for Ignizio told the news site. [SI Live]Julie Strickland