Houses of worship claim unwarranted property tax exemptions

A former Catholic priest who claims that his condominium at 155 West
70th Street is a church parsonage is getting $700 a year in tax breaks
from the city, including a $200 clergy exemption. But when the New York
Post went to check out the condo registered to cleric Robert Allmen —
who left the Church of the Good Shepherd in 1980 — a tenant answered,
saying that Allmen hadn’t lived there in years. Allmen’s church is among
9,000 religious organizations who receive tax breaks from the city in
the form of partial or full exemptions, costing New York taxpayers $551
million a year, according to the Post. The exemptions cover anything related to a religious group — from parking lots used by worshippers, to grassy fields where kids from religious schools play and even upscale condos purchased by a church as staff living quarters. [Post