Must We Be Driven From Our Home?

Dear  Bklyner,

I’m concerned about the proposed real estate tax hike that is targeted at Park Slope.  As my wife and approach retirement age, we are wondering if retirement will be possible with an onerous real estate tax bill hanging over our home on 11th Street.

Twenty five years, sweat equity, and dedication to our community won’t count when we get lumped in with wealthy recent arrivals and charged a wealth tax on our modest middle class home.  This proposed plan is based on market values (see ).  The market for our modest town house is driven by extraordinary forces that speak more to New York’s status as a global city than local demand. Must we be driven from our home because the City sees income from taxing international elites seeking to park their millions in Park Slope town houses?

Also, is this drive to find new revenue related to A-421 tax breaks for real estate developers? How many affordable housing units have been built?  Is this another boondoggle for developers to feed international demand for luxury apartments in NYC that will leave the poor still on the street, the middle class paying the bill, and the real barons living tax-free?

Sincerely,

Tom Harrington