No new taxes! Just higher old ones! The Mayor updated his Fiscal 2016 Budget plan this week, forecasting a six percent increase in the property tax levy for the year beginning July 1st due to increases assessments. Apartments and commercial properties will pay higher percentage increases on average while single family homes will pay a lesser share.
Collecting rent to pay the increase will be more difficult if the Mayor and City Council Speaker get their way. Both are proposing increase funding for legal assistance to tenants in housing court. The Speaker is also proposing a new city office of Civil Justice Coordinator to better coordinate legal service providers. Neither seems aware that keeping tenants who cannot pay the rent in place with legal maneuvers does not make housing free. Owners, other tenants and ultimately all taxpayers pay the difference.
The Manhattan District Attorney this week announced a massive scandal involving bribes for building inspections involving 16 Department of Buildings and Housing Preservation Department employees, 22 managers and owners, six expediters, two contractors and one engineer. One unregistered expediter, David Weiszer, seemed to be at the center of most of the charges.
Speaking of crime, the U.S. Court of Appeals clarified in U.S. v. Iovino that a building manager who had stolen funds from a condominium board was considered to have committed a separate crime against each unit owner when it came to counting victims under sentencing guidelines.
Just two weeks until ABO’s Energy Market Forecast and discussion of what it means for your energy buying strategy, with Thomas Devlin, Director, ABO-FS Energy Services , 4:15 p.m., Thursday, February 26, 2015 at the Club 101, 101 Park Avenue, New York, NY. Please RSVP to associatedbuilders@abogny.com
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