Revival of Property Tax Suit Puts NYC in Hot Seat

A seven-year-old lawsuit aimed at forcing overhaul of New York City's complicated property tax system has gotten a new life, after the state's high court ruled last month it could move forward.

Tax Equity Now New York, a broad housing coalition, sued the city and the state in 2017, arguing that the city's method for collecting property taxes favors wealthy, white homeowners at the expense of owners and tenants in lower-income neighborhoods. But the suit was dealt a blow in 2020, when a mid-level state appeals court dismissed it.

But in March, the Court of Appeals, the state's top court, revived two causes of action against the city under the state property tax law and the federal Fair Housing Act, sending the lawsuit back to Manhattan trial court for further proceedings. It held that claims against the state and constitutional claims against the city were properly dismissed.

On this episode of Talking Tax, reporter Danielle Muoio Dunn spoke with Martha Stark, the policy director of TENNY and a former New York City finance commissioner, about the court's findings and how the current tax structure impacts homeowners and renters in different parts of the city. Stark said the ruling not only allows the case to proceed, but shows that "the city can act on its own" to create a fairer property tax system without a rewrite of the state's property tax law.

Nicholas Paolucci, a spokesperson for the New York City Law Department, said the department is "carefully reviewing the court ruling and evaluating next steps."

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