SPECIAL REPORT ON PCCC LEGISLATIVE ACTION Hi All: We would like to report to you that the Presidents Co-op & Condo Council (PCCC) has been actively engaged at very high levels to secure protection from inflationary increases in Assessed Valuations (AV) that lead to high property taxes. As you know, a few years ago most of the co-ops in eastern Queens were targeted by the Dept. of Finance (DOF) with double and triple digit Assessed Valuation increases that lead to skyrocketing property taxes. Unlike 1-3 family homes, co-ops and condos do NOT have a CAP on these increases. The Assessed Valuations on 1-3 family homes are capped at 6% per year or 25% over 5 years. Co-ops and condos have no such caps and 100% of all increases in Assessed Valuations are simply phased in over a 5 year period. The only exception to this rule applies to co-ops and condos with fewer than 11 units. These buildings have their AV’s capped at 8% per year or 30% over a 5 year period. The PCCC has been working very hard to legislatively eliminate this “fewer than 11 units” threshold and make these protective caps available to all co-ops and condos. We felt this was the most strategic way to move since it was not about creating a new law or reinventing the wheel but simply modifying an already existing law. In order to do this we need to bring the Mayor and City Council on board so that they can send a Home Rule Message to the State Legislature asking them to make this change in state law. The big hold up has been that no one seems to know how much revenue this would cost the city over a 5 year period. A few months ago PCCC Executive Committee members Bob Friedrich (Glen Oaks Village), Warren Schreiber (Bay Terrace), Michael Kurtz (Clearview Gardens), Janice Schreibersdorf (Beechhills) and Geoff Mazel (Legal Counsel) met with Councilmembers Mark Weprin and Paul Vallone along with senior staffers of the Dept of Finance to see if we can move forward on our 8%/30% proposal. The DOF agreed to do the financial cost research and then meet with us again. On Thursday, March 26 we met again with the DOF and the Councilmembers mentioned above to review the numbers that were put together by DOF. We were very happy to find that the numbers showed that this modification in the law would be Revenue Neutral to the City. These were excellent results for us and will help us in our next hurdle to get City Council support for the Home rule message. As with any change, there will be some properties that might see a small increase in AV’s and others that will see a lower increase in AV’s. Our analysis shows that that most of our properties will see a modest decrease in the normal year to year rise in Assessed valuations. Even more importantly all co-ops and condos will be protected from unlimited future AV increases. Currently, there is no limit for annual AV increases but this change will limit it to 8% per year. This will prevent the types of double and triple digit increases we saw in Eastern Queens. Other parts of the city could be targeted with such increases in the future but this cap will protect them. The Cap also provides Cost Certainty and the ability to budget with the knowledge that property valuations will not go through the roof in any one year. But remember, this is only a temporary fix and does not repair the inequities and failures of the current system that continues to tax co-ops and condos at much higher rates than private homes. The big fix for this problem is very complicated and politically sensitive which is why we believe a Cap will provide us needed relief until such time that there is a real fix to the overall problem. We also made it very clear that the ABATEMENTS MUST CONTINUE because they are in place to help mitigate some of the unfairness of the larger tax system. We are working very hard to get this protection into law. The current Abatement law needs to be renewed by the State Legislature before the session ends in May or June. We are hoping that the 8/30 Cap can be part of that legislation. These are tough issues and tough meetings but the PCCC is up to the task and will continue to work on this issue along with the other issues that need to be addressed. PS: We recently met with NYC Controller Scott Stringer to discuss our issues and are working on legislation that would modify Local Law 87 (Energy Audits). These audits are becoming increasingly costly to co-ops as Geoff Mazel so eloquently expressed in a recent article in Habitat magazine which we forwarded to you last week. Thank you. Bob Friedrich Warren Schreiber Michael Kurtz Janice Schreibersdorf Geoff Mazel North Shore Towers resident and former Board President Bob Ricken was a member of the President Council of Coops and Condos (PCCC), a think tank of board presidents in Queens, created to help co-ops & condos better manage themselves and create greater political leverage and clout for their residents. Created in 2008 by Board President of neighboring Glen Oaks Village, Bob Friedrich, the PCCC represents more than 60 board presidents and 100,000 co-op and condo owners. Since its inception, the PCCC has met with every elected official in order to save the NYC co-op rebate and to reduce co-op taxes. Ricken continues to stay in close contact with the PCCC and felt strongly that this latest letter should be shared with his fellow NST brethren. 10 North Shore Towers Courier n May 2015
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