The Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit (PEU) and the Department of Finance (DOF) are kicking off a Month of Action to assist seniors and people with disabilities get the help they need to stay in their homes and protect affordable housing.
Many seniors and disabled people live on a fixed income, which can make it difficult to continue to live in their home as taxes and rents increase. During this Month of Action, the PEU will work with eligible candidates enroll in the NYC Tax Break for Homeowners program and the NYC Rent Freeze Program.
The NYC Tax Break for Homeowners program, which includes the Senior Citizen Homeowners’ Exemption Program and the Disabled Homeowners’ Exemption, provides partial property tax exemptions to eligible seniors and people with disabilities. Property owners earning less than $50,000 can have their property taxes reduced by up to 50 percent.
The NYC Rent Freeze Program allows eligible seniors and people with disabilities stay in their homes by freezing their rent. A tenant’s rent is frozen at the amount they pay when they enter into the program and the City pays the landlord the difference between the prior legal rent and subsequent rent increases through a property tax credit. The program includes those in the Senior Citizen Homeowners’ Exemption Program and the Disabled Homeowners’ Exemption.
“These New York City programs are foundational to what Mayor De Blasio and this administration are fighting for – accessible and affordable housing,” said Regina Schwartz, director of the Mayor’s PEU. “We are looking forward to reaching neighborhoods across the city during this Month of Action and helping New Yorkers learn how they can participate in these programs to remain in their homes.”
The deadline to apply for the NYC Tax Break for Homeowners program is Jan. 20, 2018. Enrollment events for both programs will take place at the following times in Queens:
- Saturday, Dec. 9, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., 98-30 57th Ave. Corona
- Tuesday, Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to noon, 142-01 Rockaway Blvd., South Ozone Park
- Thursday, Dec. 14, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., 113-43 Farmers Blvd., Jamaica
- Friday, Dec. 15, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 142-01 Rockaway Blvd., South Ozone Park
- Saturday, Dec. 16, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., 113-43 Farmers Blvd., Jamaica
- Monday, Dec. 18, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., 114-04 14th Rd., College Point
“The savings attainable through the City’s various property tax benefit and rent freeze programs are not widely known among New Yorkers,” said Council Member I. Daneek Miller, Chair of the Committee on Civil Service and Labor. “The legislation proposed by Congress that threatens to shift the bulk of the tax burden onto the shoulders of working individuals and families makes this outreach especially vital to those populations who can ill-afford to bear its cost: seniors, people living with disabilities and veterans.”
For more information about the programs, visit the NYC Department of Finance website.
