City Council approves Queens lawmaker’s bill extending
the J-51 Property Tax Exemption and Abatement Program
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.14 COM | DEC. 31, 2021 - JAN. 6, 2022
before the year-end
deadline.
“The J-51 program
was designed to help
property owners make
necessary improvements
to their property.
It incentivizes property
owners to modernize
their buildings for the
health and safety of its
residents,” Stavisky
said. “These incentives
enhance affordable
housing and improve
our neighborhoods.”
According to Braunstein,
for years, the J-51
tax abatement has provided
modest property
tax relief to eligible New
York City co-op owners,
including many families
in the outer boroughs
who pay higher
effective property tax
rates than other homeowners.
“The program also
helps to ensure that
buildings are maintained,
improved and,
most importantly, kept
safe for residents,”
Braunstein said.
Senator John Liu
said the state legislature
acted this past summer
to extend the exemption,
and now with the
Council’s action, they’re
able to declare a deserving
victory for co-ops in
northeast Queens and
beyond.
“Co-op owners are
breathing a huge sigh
of relief now that the
City Council has passed
the J-51 tax abatement.
There are precious few
financial incentives
that preserve the affordability
of our local co-op
housing stock, and this
reauthorization will
ensure owners have the
ability to make critical
repairs and capital improvements
to their essential
infrastructure
like elevators, boilers
and roofing,” Liu said.
Warren Schreiber,
co-president of the Presidents
Co-op and Condo
Council, and Bob Friedrich,
president of Glen
Oaks Village, said the
J-51 program makes it
possible for housing coops
to maintain and improve
their properties.
“If not for this program,
the entire financial
burden of capital
improvements would
fall on the shoulders of
middle-income shareholders,”
Schreiber
said. “New Yorkers in
co-ops should not have
to wonder whether they
will be able to afford to
make necessary changes,
repairs and improvements
to their homes
and buildings.”
According to Friedrich,
cooperatives are
operated on a not-forprofit
basis and provide
affordable housing for
hundreds of thousands
of New Yorkers.
“The J-51 program
is essential for working
class communities in
New York City like Glen
Oaks Village. Without
the J-51 tax benefits we
would have been unable
to replace 18,000 energy
efficient windows,”
Friedrich said. “The
J-51 program helps keep
our aging residential
infrastructure in good
shape for families to live
in.”
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by email
at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4526.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
The City Council
Committee on Housing
and Buildings recently
approved legislation
sponsored by two
Queens lawmakers that
will extend the J-51
property tax exemption
and abatement program
and provide relief
to property owners for
renovating a residential
apartment building,
rental, co-op or condo,
or for converting commercial
structures into
residential units.
The bill, which
passed the state Legislature
in June and is
sponsored by Senator
Toby Ann Stavisky and
Assemblyman Edward
Braunstein, authorized
the Council to extend
the exemption to June
30, 2022, so more property
owners can take
advantage of it.
The measure will
also apply retroactively
to qualifying projects
that occurred after the
June 29, 2020, expiration.
This tax exemption
provides relief by utilizing
the assessed valuation
(the property tax
rate is based on the assessed
valuation) prior
to construction. The tax
abatement reduces the
tax owed at that time.
Stavisky commended
the Council for approving
this extension
Photo via Getty Images
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