The city is owed more than $555 million in back taxes from landlords who collectively own about 21,000 properties.
The Department of Finance released a 60-day report on lien sales, showing a 24 percent decline in the amount owed from May, the New York Post reported. The number of buildings that owe at least two months’ worth of repair and tax payments dropped 10 percent. Brooklyn is at the top of the list when it comes to these debts, owning nearly $213 million on 8,782 buildings.
A 24,000-square-foot day care center at 5 Quincy Street, near Downing Street in Clinton Hill, owes $9.9 million in unpaid water bills and back taxes dating back two decades.
Real estate experts told the New York Post that the drop in debts is attributed to the recent mad dash to redevelop and acquire sites in the city.
In 2011, the City Council approved the Lien Sale Reform and Authorization Act, allowing the city to sell liens on two- and three-family homes with up to $2,000 in unpaid bills, as previously reported. [NYP] — Mark Maurer