Meet With City Reps At P.S. 91
State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, Assemblyman Mike Miller and City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley are co-sponsoring a free tax lien assistance outreach event tonight, Thursday, Mar. 8, in Glendale.
As announced, the special event will take place between 5 and 7 p.m. at P.S. 91, located at 68-10 Central Ave. Visitors should use the entrance located on 68th Place.
Representatives from the New York City Environmental Protection (DEP), New York City Department of Finance and New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) will be there to assist residents whose tax liens are on the list to be sold or who are currently struggling with tax lien matters. There will also be information on Senior Citizens Homeowners Exemption (SCHE) which might entitle them to a 50 percent reduction in their property taxes (the deadline to apply for SCHE is next Thursday, Mar. 15).
“Assembly Member Miller’s and Council Member Crowley’s offices are sending out invitations to this free session in Glendale to those constituents whose tax liens are in danger of being sold. I strongly urge them to come to our outreach event in order to obtain the help they need to avoid the sale, which can have serious consequences in the future,” urged Addabbo.
A tax lien usually involves real es- tate, although it can also involve other forms of personal property. A lien is placed on the property when the owner fails to pay, or is delinquent in paying, certain taxes. Less common are tax liens that involve other fees owed to a government agency. In most situations, however, tax liens are issued because a tax lien servicer is not paid.
When a tax lien does involve real estate and the property does exchange hands, this obligation of repayment is said to “run with the land.” That means the new property owner is now responsible for repayment of taxes owed even if the nonpayment occurred because of a prior owner.
This is one of the reasons a title search and title insurance is so important to new homeowners.
In a tax lien sale, the city sells liens to a single authorized buyer who hires a collection agency. It is not a sale of the property, but if the taxes and/or charges are not paid or resolved, the lien holder can begin a foreclosure proceeding in court.
A Finance Department represenative will be able to meet one-on-one with homeowners with tax liens to help them avoid the lien sale by discussing eligibility for exemptions from the sale or ways of resolving the lien. In order to prevent the sale of a lien on property, the debt must be resolved by May 17, through one of the following methods:
– payment of the outstanding debt in full;
– entering into a payment agreement;
– applying to receive an exemption that will exclude the property from the lien sale;
– successfully disputing the charges by filing a formal challenge with the DEP or Department of Finance.
Residents of Addabbo’s district who have been sent a legal claim against their property for unpaid taxes, or whose property was on a published lien sale list, are encouraged to attend this outreach session to obtain advice and to take the necessary steps to prevent the sale of their lien.
The Finance representative will provide assistance in developing payment agreements, resolving billing disputes and helping complete exemptions applications for those who qualify.
Property owners must bring their water/sewer bills, property taxes and HPD loan paperwork. In one-on-one sessions, the city will have representatives on hand to offer customer service and will be able to check your eligibility for billing programs, including their Water Debt Assistance Program and provide help with setting up payment plans.
The DEP will provide customer service regarding payment of water and sewer bills, water conservation education and water assistance program; the Department of Finance will cover will cover its exemption programs; HPD will provide assistance in preventing foreclosures and predatory lending and assist with securing low-interest loans.
Call Addabbo’s Howard Beach district office at 1-718-738-1111 or Crowley’s Middle Village office at 1-718-366-3900 to RSVP.
