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The pied-á-terre list and letters, detained kids facing court without lawyers, and the Legionnaires' outbreak is contained. #162
Last week’s news cycle was dominated by the city’s new pied-á-terre tax, which passed in the most recent state budget. Letters were sent out to homeowners who the city suspects could have second homes, announced cheekily in a tweet letting them know to check their mailboxes when they’re “back in the five boroughs.”
The Department of Finance sent approximately 17,000 letters, but not everyone who got one has a second home. They also published the state-mandated property assessment rolls, which had around 900,000 homeowners listed.
The blowback was swift. The assessment rolls was a “hit list,” some said. People unaware of just how much information is publicly available when you buy property felt completely violated, like the whole world suddenly knew their large homes in New York City were valuable. When people tried to prove their homes were primary on the DOF website, they kept seeing errors.
“PIED A TERROR!” the Post put on its cover.
The rollout of this new tax which the city hopes could bring in $500 million a year was bungled. There was fair criticism but much of it was drowned out by the most extreme.
Why didn’t the city do a better job of filtering out more homeowners, particularly people already getting tax rebates only available to primary residences? Was the DOF ready for the incoming of potentially thousands of people submitting what they need to prove they only have one home? Could the mayor have been a little less gleeful, something his DOF team suggested?
I think our coverage was a bit more measured. The city seems to be responding a bit to the reaction, extending the deadline now to submit paperwork to Sept. 18.
We won’t know really until March of next year how much this will add to the city’s coffers, given the opportunities available for people to contest it in front of the tax commission. You can read more coverage here and here, and this insane thing, from people who are professionally supposed to be much smarter than this!
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This week my colleague Gwynne Hogan also wrote about what it’s like inside courtrooms where detained children — some as young as three — face deportation without attorneys. It will only increase as the federal government on Friday let a $356 million-a-year contract for legal services for kid expire.
“We’re going to see a lot of kids railroaded into taking voluntary departure, aka self-deport, even where their protection needs are acute and where they would be facing real danger to their lives in their countries of origin,” one expert told Gwynne. You can read the full story here.
Other interesting stories
🔸The Legionnaires’ cluster on the Upper East Side has been quelled [THE CITY REPORTER]
🔸More badly needed money for Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, who barely benefits financially from all of the private entities that profits off its space. [TCR]
🔸A guide to birding! I saw an oriole this week on my lawn! [TCR]
🔸MTA settles with disability advocates as subway elevators improve [TCR]
🔸You can (legally) camp in city parks. [GOTHAMIST]
🔸 Don’t forget: The City Reporter sells merch! [TCR]
🎧LISTEN🎧
I enjoyed this week’s episode of Off Topic/On Politics on the pied-á-terre rollout.
We also interviewed Murad Awawdeh on FAQ.
We have a few more weeks to enjoy the water. Thanks for reading!