36 The QUEE NS Courier • june 30, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Photo courtesy of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office CUOMO AND PIANO MAN KICK OFF BIG BIKE RIDE AT CITI FIELD Governor Andrew Cuomo, along with his companion Sandra Lee and singer/songwriter Billy Joel, embarked on the state’s first-ever breast cancer motorcycle ride on June 27, taking them on a journey from Citi Field in Flushing to upstate New Paltz. Before movin’ out to the country, Cuomo held a bill-signing ceremony in which he signed legislation increasing access to breast cancer screenings. Described as the nation’s most aggressive breast cancer screening action plan, the law requires that 210 hospitalbased mammography facilities extend their hours of operation, while also eliminating various insurance hurdles for mammograms and other diagnostic imaging procedures designed to detect breast cancer. Queens Assemblymen Jeffrion Aubry, Francisco Moya and David Weprin were part of the bill-signing ceremony. Cuomo, Lee and Joel were accompanied by hundreds of other motorcycle enthusiasts for the trip aimed at raising awareness of breast cancer across the Empire State. State tax break aims to ease financial burden of co-op and condo owners BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI editorial@qns.com/@RidgewoodTimes Middle class co-op and condo owners of Queens received welcome news from two local lawmakers at the Glen Oaks Oval on June 27. State Senator Tony Avella and Assemblyman Ed Braunstein announced the passage of their J-51 Tax Abatement Expansion bill in both the Senate and the Assembly, which raises the annual income qualification threshold for the J-51 Tax Abatement from $30,000 to $32,000 at the end of the 2016 legislative session. The threshold will continue to rise with cost-of-living inflation and reach $35,000 by 2021. “It’s a step in the right direction,” Avella said, “and we’re happy that the administration Call Now & End Your Tax Nightmare! • Owe the IRS more than $10,000? • Being Audited? • Unfi led Tax Returns? • Wage & Bank Levies? Co-Author of the best selling book “Breaking the Tax Code” (T) 877-TAX-1040 (F) 718-894-4476 Salvatore P. Candela, EA, ATA, ABA Enrolled Agent - Tax Advisor scandela@thetaxadvocategroup.com www.thetaxadvocategroup.com finally agreed with us.” J-51 is a property tax exemption for buildings renovating residential apartments. The bill is an effort to ease the burden of maintenance costs for co-op and condo owners. “Anyone who understands the New York property tax system understands that there’s glaring inequities throughout the entire property tax system,” Braunstein said. “Out here, especially in northeast Queens, these homeowners pay the highest effective property tax rates in New York City. It’s very unfair.” Braunstein also pointed out that many owners of these co-ops are young families and seniors who are unable to keep up with the rising costs. “I cannot underestimate the importance of the J-51 tax abatement and exemption program,” said Bob Friedrich, president of the Glen Oaks Village Co-op. He pointed out that the Glen Oaks Village Co-op just completed the installation of 18,000 new energy-efficient windows. “We could not have done this program without the benefits of the J-51 abatement that provided nearly 38 percent of the cost of this massive program in dollar-for-dollar tax reduction over a period of time,” he added. Without the tax abatement, Friedrich said, monthly maintenance costs would have been raised by 16 percent, something that would have been “devastating” to the coop’s seniors and working-class families. “The J-51 allows properties like ours to make major capital improvements without placing a financial burden on the shareholders,” said Warren Schreiber, president of Bay Terrace Cooperative Section I. “If we didn’t have the J-51, our properties would fall into disrepair, or they would stop being affordable.” Though the passing of the tax abatement was a win, Avella says this is only the beginning of more legislation to come. “This is a great step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done,” Avella said. “But today we’re making a great first step.”
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