City to scale back co-op property tax assessment hikes after public outcry

City Finance Commissioner David Frankel agreed yesterday to cap property tax hikes on co-ops at 10 percent, caving to pressure from City Council members. According to the Daily News, the change of heart came in response to an outcry by some 300 co-op owners, who were told their taxes were likely to increase by more than 50 percent this year. The Finance Department, which used a new computer system to assess the properties, said the astronomical assessments were in some cases due to a glitch in the new system; other properties had simply been undervalued for years. But Frankel nonetheless pledged to fix the system’s glitches and scale back increases on those undervalued properties to 10 percent above last year’s assessed values. “I’m trying to assess properties in the most accurate way,” Frankel said. “Have we done it perfectly? Obviously not. But that’s what we’re trying to do.” [NYDN]

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