Photo: Mayor de Blasio (blue jacket), seen here last October outside a Sandy-ravaged Broad Channel home in the process of being rebuilt, signed a new law this week that provides tax relief to property owners who repaired homes and businesses damaged by the storm. Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza.
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday signed into a law a bill to provide long-term property tax relief to owners who rebuilt and repaired homes and businesses damaged by Superstorm Sandy.
The new law, voted through by the City Council two weeks ago, creates a long-term solution to provide tax relief to property owners impacted by Sandy through 2020, according to the Mayor’s Office.
Many owners saw significant increases in their property taxes after rebuilding or repairing homes or businesses damaged by Sandy. The new legislation allows the city to limit increases in assessed value for homes or businesses that underwent construction or repairs after the storm, providing much-needed relief to property owners who received significantly larger tax bills as a result of their renovations, de Blasio said.
The law lowers the assessed value of property that was damaged by Sandy and whose assessed value subsequently increased between 2013 and 2014 due to renovations or reconstruction. It ensures that most of the owners of affected properties will receive a tax bill similar to what they would have received had the storm never occurred.
According to the Mayor’s Office, to qualify for this tax relief, the property must meet the following criteria: the city Department of Finance decreased the assessed value of the building on the property in 2013 from the assessed value in 2012 because of damage resulting from Sandy; and DOF increased, or will increase, the assessed value as a result of repairs or reconstruction of damage caused by Sandy on any assessment roll completed from 2014 through 2020.
“Many who were affected by [Superstorm] Sandy put every available dollar into rebuilding and repairing their homes in the wake of this storm,” said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. “This law will make sure owners are not penalized by increases in their property taxes just because of the work they did to make their homes and neighborhoods whole again.”
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
