Authorizes cities having a population of between 250,000 and 300,000 to establish a senior citizen longtime resident real property tax exemption

Title of bill

An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to establishing a senior citizen longtime resident exemption in certain cities

Purpose

Authorizes cities having a population of between 250,000 and 300,000 to establishing a senior citizen longtime resident real property tax exemption

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill amends the real property tax law by adding a new section 467-j.

Section 2 of the bill provides the effective date.

Justification

When a neighborhood is determined to be gentrifying, a potential byproduct is the displacement of long-time residents. Higher mortgages and rents may be cited as a reason for that displacement.

Over the past few years, several major U.S. cities have initiated plans to reduce or freeze property tax assessments for long-time homeowners in certain gentrifying neighborhoods. In doing so, the cities aim to protect low- and middle-income homeowners unable to afford an increase in property taxes, and thereby slow the churning of these neighborhoods.

Last year, to assess the extent to which gentrification has reshaped urban communities, Governing analyzed Census tract data for the nation's 50 largest cities. One of its findings from its examinations of these neighborhoods concluded that nearly 20 percent of neighborhoods with lower incomes and home values have experienced gentrification since 2000, compared to only 9 percent during the 1990s.

Cities across the state of New York are experiencing resurgence in recent years. The City of Buffalo is one example. The growth of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus has accelerated exponentially over the last several years, with nine major institutions and more than 40 public and private companies expanding in the city of Buffalo.

This expansion has facilitated the investment of over 750 million dollars into a development covering over 120 acres and employing well over 12,000 employees. With new development, come new residents. This growth, however economically beneficial can have some negative consequences upon the adjacent Fruit Belt community. This neighborhood is of singular importance due to its rich history as one of the City's oldest neighborhoods developed in the decades before the Civil War. As such, some of the housing stock has been in families for generations.

The purpose of this legislation is to protect the some of the most vulnerable of our New Yorkers, its seniors by establishing a longtime resident real property tax exemption. This will allow senior residents to enjoy the revitalization of their communities without taxing them out of it.

Legislative history

This is a new bill.

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.