Mark Weprin Leads Property Tax "Revolt" at City Hall

left to right: Bay Terrace President Warren Schreiber, Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Council Member Mark S. Weprin, and Assemblymember David I. Weprin lead a “tax revolt” at City Hall against outrageous real property tax assessment increases.

New York City Council Member Mark S. Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens), founder of the City Council Co-op and Condo caucus, stood with Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Senator Tony Avella, Assemblymember Edward C. Braunstein, Assemblymember Grace Meng, Assemblymember David I. Weprin, Council Member Daniel J. Halloran, Council Member Peter Koo, co-op shareholders, and co-op board members and presidents from Eastern Queens to protest the outrageous increases in real property tax assessments on co-ops and condos. They called on Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Department of Finance Commissioner David M. Frankel to rescind the increases because they are arbitrary, inconsistent, and unfair.

“These increases cannot stand,” said Council Member Mark S. Weprin. “As an official who represents tens of thousands of co-op and condo residents, I will continue to fight for tax equity.”

The rally and property tax “revolt” took place in advance of City Council Finance hearings to be held on Monday, May 2 at 10 AM at 250 Broadway. At that time, Council Members will call on Commissioner Frankel to explain how he can justify the increases or rescind them immediately.

Since the New York City Department of Finance (DOF) released its real property tax assessments earlier this year, there has been considerable and well-justified angst on the part of Queens co-op and condo boards. When DOF changed the valuation methods, some co-ops saw their valuations rise by as much as one hundred fifty percent, at a time when property values are basically flat. DOF later agreed to limit increases to fifty percent.

“I am a shareholder in a co-op where valuation skyrocketed one hundred forty-seven percent this year, and then DOF decided to cap increases at fifty percent, for this year only,” said Senator Toby Ann Stavisky. “Fifty percent is totally arbitrary and is still a very large increase on middle class families.”

It has also been reported that a computer glitch at DOF was responsible for some of the unusually high assessments.

“The failure of DOF to recognize its mistakes for three months, only to ultimately blame all of its failures on a computer glitch, is simply unacceptable,” said Assemblymember Edward C. Braunstein. “It's time for DOF to abandon its effort to balance New York City’s budget on the backs of co-op owners in Queens.”

"Our ongoing fiscal recovery depends on our neighbors being secure in their homes and able to afford their groceries and medications,” said Assemblymember Grace Meng. “This plan doesn't allow for that; it's simply pickpocketing."

“The City’s formula for valuing these properties doesn’t add up,” said Council Member Daniel J. Halloran. “This is just a hidden co-op tax on my constituents.”

Council Member Peter Koo said, "DOF stated that a computer glitch is the cause for a one hundred forty-seven percent tax assessment increase for co-ops and condos in Queens. This is an unacceptable answer, and whatever glitch occurred should be corrected and assessments re-evaluated.”

"DOF was caught red-handed using commercial properties to value residential co-ops,” said Bob Friedrich, President of Glen Oaks Village Owners. “The Presidents Co-op Council, an affiliation of fifty co-op Board Presidents in Queens, is calling for an independent investigation and is preparing to file a lawsuit if these flawed valuations are imposed."

“Co-ops and condos represent a last bastion of middle class housing in New York City,” said Warren Schreiber, President of Bay Terrace Cooperative, Section One. “As property taxes continue to rise, many long-time residents could be forced from their apartments.”

There may also be a need to correct the underlying issue with legislation at the state level.

"I have introduced legislation to reclassify certain property held in cooperative form," said Assemblymember David I. Weprin. “This will better reflect that the units are primary residences, not investment properties.”

Queens Holds Back On Black by Nathan Duke and Matthew Hampton- Forest Hills, NY Patch

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While many New Yorkers have already made up their minds about incoming Schools Chancellor Cathie Black, Queens politicians have so far been fairly reserved on the subject. With several saying they're going to withhold judgment on Black until she's answered a few questions from the City Council.

Karen Koslowitz, D-Forest Hills, has said at recent community meetings that her plan is to take the wait-and-see approach with Black, though she has seemed hesitant to give her any kind of endorsement.

"I'm not sure how good this one's going to be — the last two chancellors had no experience in education," Koslowitz said at a Forest Hills Civic Assocation meeting after the appointment. "I hope she understands public schools. I think her kids went to private schools."

Koslowitz pledged to try and work with Black at a Community Board 6 meeting the next night, though she's withheld comment on the subject since.

Koslowitz's colleague, Dan Halloran, R-Whitestone, originally joined other City Council members asking David Steiner, the state's education commissioner, to deny a waiver that would allow Black to become chancellor. The councilman later said his move was "premature" and asked for his name to be removed from the Council's resolution.

"I realized this was a rush to judgment," Halloran said. "I would like to ask my colleagues on the City Council to give Ms. Black a chance. I want to hear more from the mayor on her qualifications to be chancellor and the process used in her selection. And I want to hear more from Ms. Black on her plan to improve our city's public schools. It is premature to call for the denial of her waiver at this time."

Halloran said he believes the Council should give Black a "fair hearing" at which she could testify about her plans for city schools.

On Tuesday, Bloomberg picked up support on his schools chancellor pick from three former city mayors, Rudy Giuliani, David Dinkins and Edward Koch.

In a letter to Steiner, the former mayors wrote that Black had "an extraordinary track record of managing large organizations through trying circumstances."

"These are three individuals who understand the need to have someone who is talented and competent running an agency of this size and that, at the end of the day, the buck stops with the mayor," Bloomberg said in a statement.

A bevy of elected officials have also thrown their weight behind the mayor on the matter, including Councilman James Gennaro, D-Fresh Meadows, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and former Council Speaker Peter Vallone.

NYC Traffic Cop's Donut Run Ends Up on YouTube - techPresident

This is absolutely hilarious...

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Daniel Halloran, a New York City councilmember from Queens, spotted a city traffic officer speeding through the legislator's district, lights flashing, while he talked on a cell phone. The ride ended when traffic agent Daniel Chu, perhaps one with a well-developed sense of irony, pulled up to a Dunkin' Donuts. (via CitizenTube) The cop wrote the councilmember a ticket for $165 for blocking the crosswalk outside the store, and the politician posted video footage of the incident on YouTube.

The councilmember is asking the city to review every ticket the traffic agent has written.

This is not nearly the first time that the humble cell phone camera or pocket-sized videotaping device has been called into service in Gotham's war against bad traffic behavior by public officials. UncivilServants.org, a project of the New York City-based advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, keeps a documented tally of "official" city vehicles behaving in ways that the law and common urban decency says they shouldn't.

Steve Behar Claims Bundlers Offered $200k To Assembly Race To Switch Charters Position by Chris Bragg - City Hall News

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Steve Behar, an attorney mounting a race in Queens for the seat of retiring Assembly Member Ann-Margaret Carrozza, claims that two pro-charter school bundlers have enough faith in his candidacy to have offered to raise him up to $200,000 in exchange for him changing his position on charter schools to support their expansion.

Many in what was a wide field of Democrats cleared out of the race at the end of last month, after Ed Braunstein, a staffer for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, received the support of the Queens County Democratic organization. Among those who did not is Behar, who lost a primary battle for the Council seat eventually won by Dan Halloran, and has remained in the race.

Braunstein is likely to be backed by the generally charter-cool teachers unions, given that he has the support of Silver, an ally of the unions. But in a letter written to the website Queens Teacher, Behar claimed that he was being courted to come out in favor of the charters.

“In the last few weeks two separate ‘political fundraisers’ promised to raise between $100K and $200K for my campaign if I changed my position to favor charter schools,” Behar wrote. “Since I’m running against a well-funded inexperienced and unqualified candidate (Ed Braunstein) who works for the Albany leadership and is in the pocket of the lobbyists and the special interests, that money would have really helped my campaign. However, keeping to my core beliefs, I refused to change my position and thus refused the money.”

In an interview, Behar said he turned the bundlers down on principle. He declined, however, to give the names of the two bundlers, citing concerns about scaring away future potential fundraisers and donors to his campaign.

All Behar would say is that one of the people he claims was involved approached him three weeks ago at the New York State Young Democrats convention, and the other approached him at a political event a week ago. When asked which event, though, Behar said he could not recall.

When told about the letter, Braunstein’s campaign blasted Behar for not disclosing who the bundlers were, and said he should report such incidents to the police, if they in fact occurred.

“If you’re running for a position of trust, you make a promise to uphold the law. If anyone ever approached Ed Braunstein and offered him something like that, he would pick up the phone and report that individual. They ought to be prosecuted and locked up,” said campaign spokesman Michael McKeon. “We need integrity in Albany, not someone who just wants to put out a press release.”

Behar fired back, pointing out that Braunstein’s uncle, Brian Meara, is a lobbyist well-known for his connections to Silver and Assembly Democrats.

Behar said it was absurd to expect that he report the bundlers to the authorities.

“I realize this kid just got out of law school, but if that’s true, then his uncle should be going to jail because he’s a lobbyist,” Behar said. “Isn’t that what lobbyists do: offer you support so you change your position?”

Also running in the Democratic primary are former Assembly Member John Duane and Whitestone lawyer Elio Forcina. Queens Republican Party executive vice president Vince Tabone and Rob Speranza are running in the Republican primary.

The $200,000 supposedly in play here would have increased the size of Behar's war many times over: according to Behar’s ActBlue fundraising page, he has, as of Thursday night, raised online only $1,015 from 13 supporters for the race. Behar, though, cautioned that he had raised far more than that in personal checks, though he declined to cite a figure before he makes a campaign finance disclosure in July.

Bloomberg Curries Favor With City Council Republicans by Elizabeth Benjamin - The Daily Politics - NY Daily News

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Mayor Bloomberg administers the oath of office to the five members of the City Council's new Minority Conference. From left to right: Council Member Eric Ulrich of Queens, Council Member James Oddo of Staten Island, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Council Member Peter Koo of Queens, Council Member Vincent Ignizio of Staten Island and Council Member Dan Halloran of Queens. Photo Courtesy of Steven Stites - Halloran Campaign

Mayor Bloomberg today congratulated the City Council Republicans and their leader, Jimmy Oddo, for their "historic membership increase" and said he's looking forward to working with the five-man conference in the coming year.

"Let me congratulate you for an historic membership increase for 2010," the mayor said. "Is this the largest percentage increase in Republicans ever? Probably is. One fell swoop. Two to five. Can anybody do the math in terms of the percentage increase? Well, it’s 150 percent. Just to get the numbers right."

(There was some disagreement as to whether the mayor's math was correct. A few people said the answer is actually 250 percent. But, according to the DN's Bill Hammond, who is far better than I am at figures, the new number is 250 percent of the old number, but the percentage change is indeed 150).

At Oddo's request, the mayor conducted a ceremonial swearing-in ceremony in the Council chamber of the Republican lawmakers - newcomers Dan Halloran and Peter Koo and incumbents Oddo, Vincent Ignizio and Eric Ulrich.

The brief ceremony took place after Bloomberg met privately with the conference in Oddo's office.

Before conducting his swearing-in duties, Bloomberg, a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent, made a point of stressing that governing should be an a-political undertaking.

"We’re going to work together - not as Republicans, not as independents not as Democrats - but as New Yorkers," Bloomberg said. "The challenges that face city government are nonpartisan challenges. They are real life challenges."