From the NY Post:Hundreds of buildings seized by the city for unpaid taxes and turned over to low-income tenants and nonprofit groups decades ago are now in default, leaving taxpayers on the hook for $100 million, according to city officials.
"It's just a huge ongoing problem," Mark Page, the city's budget director, conceded at a City Council hearing last week.
He said the city is in a bind because it doesn't want the buildings back and hasn't had much luck collecting from poor tenants with limited assets.
"In theory, we could take the building because they haven't paid their taxes. But then what does that do for us?" he said. "It's full of tenants and then what do you do?"
3 comments:
Don't take the buildings, give them to the tenants. Then let them pay the taxes or sell the buildings.
Anon, that's what they did, and they didn't pay. They expect to live for free and with the city's attitude that they can't evict, they will continue to live for free. Just don't expect that a building with zero cash flow to be maintained.
Patrick Sweeney said...
Anon, that's what they did, and they didn't pay. They expect to live for free and with the city's attitude that they can't evict, they will continue to live for free. Just don't expect that a building with zero cash flow to be maintained."
I knew if I waited one of these tree stumps would chime in with a comment like this.
Fact is that these buildings were abandoned during the dark years of the seventies. Most were in deplorable condition having been drained by leech landlords and resentful violent tenants.
Those buildings are still in bad areas and if anyone would even buy them, they will run into the same cycle of unpaid rent and resentment that doomed them 40 years ago.
Turn these places into "Sweat Equity" co-ops. Then be realistic about settling outstanding taxes, the City is not going to get full-dollar amounts on most of these properties. If we can tolerate every crap religion owning huge amounts of often prime real estate tax exempt, we can forgive and settle tax liabilities on a few hundred buildings that serve real needs.
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