NY Legislation Would Block de Blasio’s Tax Sales - In Pawtucket and Other RI Communities, No Relief
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
New legislation in New York would block the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio from selling overdue taxes owed by delinquent property owners for debt collection or foreclosure amid the coronavirus pandemic, reports the New York Post.
In Rhode Island, the risk for homeowners continues. A series of GoLocal stories have unveiled cases of homeowners losing their homes over as little as $1,500.
Mayor de Blasio and the city Finance Department did postpone a lien sale scheduled for May on the outstanding taxes, due to the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTNow, the De Blasio administration has rescheduled the sale for September 4 for the tardy property taxes and water and sewer fees on some 9,500 residential and commercials properties, according to Finance Department records, reports the Post.
Rhode Island vs. New York
In Rhode Island, the tax and water sales practice continue.
A group of insiders has dominated tax sales for years. Providence Attorney Fernando Cunha, once a business associate of Vincent “Buddy” Cianci and a major political donor in Rhode Island is at the focal point of many of the properties. He has contributed to Governor Gina Raimondo, then-Providence Mayor David Cicilline, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, House Majority Leader Joe Shekarchi, and then-Providence Mayor Angel Taveras. In total, Cunha has made more than $16,000 in political contributions.
As Congressman, Cicilline has also received $3,900 in campaign contributions from Cunha.
Sales across Rhode Island can move forward unfettered as Raimondo has issued no restriction on the municipal actions despite 100,000 Rhode Islanders being out of work.
The Post reports a similar process in New York as in Rhode Island. "Once a lien is sold, property owners must arrange a payment agreement with the lien servicing company — plus interest — or risk a legal seizure of their property. Foreclosure can be initiated six months and 30 days after the sale of the tax lien if the property owner makes no attempt at offering a repayment plan, according to Tower Capital Management, one of the city’s debt collectors on purchased liens," according to the Post.
Property owners in NewYork City facing the tax lien sale have until September 3 to fully pay their debt, enter into a payment agreement with the Department of Finance or seek a hardship exemption, the department said.
New York State Senator Leroy Comrie and Assemblyman David Weprin, both Queens Democrats, introduced legislation saying it is wrong to threaten squeezed homeowners during the public health crisis.
Comrie’s Southeast Queens district has approximately 600 properties whose tax debts could be put up for sale. He told the Post that his district his comprised largely of one-and-two family homes that were hard hit by the subprime mortgage crisis a decade ago. Many property owners are still recovering from that devastation, he said.
Said Weprin: “With thousands in our city struggling with the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including many homeowners in my Assembly district and across Queens, it is absolutely unconscionable to hold the tax lien sale in 2020.”
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