Property tax abatements for homeowners in New York City cooperatives and condominiums will continue for three more years. Strong commitments by the mayor and the City Council to continuing the abatement guaranteed its inclusion in the City budget in June. Assemblyman Pete Grannis and Senator Roy Goodman then ensured that the extender was passed by the Senate and the Assembly,(State law must be amended to authorize for the extender.) At this writing, Governor Pataki is slated to soon sign this important measure into law, continuing an important initiative begun in 1996 to bring fairness to the property taxes paid by homeowners in cooperatives and condominiums.

With three more years of abatement now in place, CNYC and the Action Committee for Reasonable Real Estate Taxes will use that time to work for a permanent plan for tax fairness. Page 3 details the story of this abatement extender and page 15 announces the September 13 meeting of the Action Committee. Your building should be active in this ongoing crusade for permanent tax reform.