1. Finance Department session on Wednesday to help Staten
Islanders report … – SILive.com
Light snow falls on storm-damaged Quincy Avenue in Midland Beach.
Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Help is available to homeowners to report Hurricane Sandy-related
property value losses to city tax assessors.
City Finance Department representatives will be on hand Wednesday at Staten Island Technical
High School to answer borough residents’ questions about this year’s property tax assessment
and help fill out damage reports.
Homeowners should have received a notice of property value assessment from the city by Jan.
15, said Councilman James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn). That statement identified their
property’s value as of Jan. 5 and is used to determine property tax owed for the upcoming
fiscal year.
The city’s fiscal year begins July 1.
The notice should have reflected the damage inflicted by Sandy — and those who believe their
property value has been negatively impacted must alert Finance to the damage, said Oddo.
Damage must be reported by Feb. 1, except for commercial building owners, who must do so by
April 15.
“I encourage people whose property was damaged by Sandy to report that information to the
Department of Finance to ensure that their property is properly valued,” Oddo said in a
statement. “Those whose property was extensively damaged by Sandy should not get a
surprise when they receive a property tax bill that does not reflect the actual status of the
property.”
A similar session was held last month, also at Staten Island Tech, 485 Clawson St., New Dorp,
before the release of the property tax notices. Wednesday’s forum is from 4 to 8 p.m.
Finance staff will work one-on-one with property owners, answer their questions, and help them
1/2

2. complete the necessary form. Property owners can stop in at any time during the four-hour
window.
In a large city like New York City, property value assessments typically aren’t done in person.
They’re based on factors such as the price of nearby home sales. That’s why it’s important for
homeowners to apprise Finance of any significant damage.
Besides those affected by Sandy, any Islander who has questions about their property tax
assessment may attend the session.
“As people begin to rebuild and get their lives back in order, they are rightfully concerned about
the value of their homes,” said Councilman Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore) in a statement. “It
is safe to say that many of those damaged homes are now worth less than they were pre-storm.
Staten Islanders have seen their taxes rise during good times due to rising assessments, now
those assessments for damaged homes should be lower to reflect the storm’s impact.”
Property taxes are not based solely on structure, but also on land — so Islanders who lost their
entire homes will still be liable for some taxes.
Anyone coming to Tech on Wednesday should bring any documentation they have, including
photographs.
Officials said the quickest way to report damage is completing an online form on Finance’s
website at https://dofpropertydamage.cityofnewyork.us/.
Source Article from
http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/01/finance_department_holding_ses.html
Waddywood.com Finance Department session on Wednesday to help Staten Islanders report …
– SILive.com
2/2
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)