A policy change last week affecting applications for 421-a tax
exemption could help save the tax rebates for a lot of projects that
got into the ground last year. The Department of Housing Preservation
and Development has revised the rules such that developers can maintain
their eligibility for 421-a benefits even if work stops at a project,
or if it takes longer than three years to complete, as long as the
developer can prove that the delay was caused by an inability to obtain
financing. The rules for obtaining the tax abatement have
always required that a project be completed within 36 months from when
the developer broke ground, and that throughout construction, there was
continuously work performed at the site. [more]