Charity organizations own buildings that house daycares and mosques, arts organizations and churches, food pantries and theaters; they own land for community gardens, playgrounds and farms. State law is clear that they are all entitled to property tax exemptions from the date they purchase the property until they don’t own it anymore.
In 2020, at the urging of the Protect Our Places Coalition*, the New York City Council passed Local Law 42 of 2020, forbidding the Department of Finance (DOF) from selling tax liens on charity-owned properties that either
- had an exemption to in either of the last two years,
- for which owners have filed an application for an exemption that DOF has not yet responded to, or
- for which DOF denied exemption as long as the owners filed an appeal.
The law went into effect on March 27, 2020. It also required DOF to create a Not-for-Profit Ombudsperson who can be reached at nfp-ombuds@finance.nyc.gov.
This built on the 2017 requirement that the Department of Finance to post a separate list of all properties that it identifies for inclusion in the lien sale that have had exemptions in any of the last five years.
As a result of our advocacy, for the sale scheduled for December 2021, the Department of Finance agreed to go far beyond what the new law requires and remove all properties that have ever had a charity exemption that still have the same owner as when the exemption was established.
*The ProtectOurPlaces Coalition is the Mary Mitchell Center Family and Youth Center, Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC), Al Muneer Foundation, Fifth Avenue Committee, Bangladeshi American Community Development and Youth Services (BACDYS), Fort Apache Youth Center, Haven Ministries, Masjid Al Aman, Judson Memorial Church, Bricks and Mortals NYC, St. Nicks Alliance, New York State Council of Churches, Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing, The New York Board of Rabbis, Lawyers Alliance for New York, United Methodist City Society, Nonprofit New York, Presbytery of New York City, The 400 Foundation, the New York City Community Land Initiative & TakeRoot Justice.
Advocacy Before the NYC Tax Commission
2018: TakeRoot represented the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center, Inc., based on the Crotona neighborhood of the Bronx, in re-establishing its charity property tax exemption for a building the Center owns.
The Commission found that the NYC Department of Finance (DOF) had unlawfully revoked a previously established exemption. The Commission was clear that when the DOF attempts to remove exemption, it has the burden of proof to show that revocation is proper. In this case, the DOF did not meet the burden. The Commission found that the Center had been taking consistent steps towards development of the building, even though a significant period of time had passed since acquisition. The Commission was convinced by the Center’s participation in the Community Land Trust Learning Exchange, by multiple design efforts and by its ongoing capital campaign.
Read the full decision.
2019: TakeRoot represented Masjid Al Aman, Inc., a City Line/East New York, Brooklyn mosque, in re-establishing the property tax exemption for the mosque property, which DOF had revoked due to delays in completing construction.
“…based on the credible testimony of the Applicant’s President, other Majid board members involved in the construction at the Property, and the Applicant’s architect, the Tax Commission concludes that, by November 2018, those safety violations were sufficiently resolved so as to allow partial use of the Property, and that those violations remaining open thereafter did not implicate the safety of the Property and were no longer open as of the date of the hearing.”
Read the full decision.
Testimony
Testimony to the City Council Committee on Finance on Fy23 Budget (3/2/2022): No matter what debt collection system the City puts in place, charity property owners like churches, mosques, theater incubators and other groups that hold our neighborhoods together, are uniquely positioned under the law and need direct advocacy services to protect their places.
Testimony to City Council Committee on Finance on Bills Aimed at Protecting Charity Organizations (11/19/2019): In support of the #ProtectOurPlaces coalition, TakeRoot testified for reforms in Department of Finance’s administration of the charity property tax exemption that is mandatory under New York State law. Video of the hearing, including TakeRoot and ProtectOurPlaces Coalition members testimony, is here.
Testimony to City Council Committee on Finance on Tax Lien Sale Bill (1/11/2017): TakeRoot, in collaboration with the New York City Community Land Initiative, called for changes to a bill reauthorizing the City’s tax lien program so that non-profit organizations and community members occupying properties with tax liens may continue to do so, and unused properties may be used in the ways that most benefit the surrounding communities.
Selected Press
After Years of Community Organizing, Nonprofits Now Get Much-Needed Relief from Dangerous Tax Lien Sale, Gotham Gazette | Mara Kravitz | March 27, 2020
New York City Council Examines Bills Aiming to Support Nonprofits, City & State: NY Nonprofit Media | Kay Dervishi | November 20, 2019
Stop selling tax liens against community charities, NY Daily News | Paula Segal and Frank Lang | Oct. 17, 2018
CityViews: Stop the Reverse Robin Hood Tax Scheme Threatening Community Nonprofits, City Limits | Paula Segal and Kobir Chowdhury | September 6, 2018
Department of Finance creates a taxing nightmare for nonprofits, Daily News | Edward Garcia, Lindsey Johnson, Felix Kuadugah | May 17, 2018
Crotona’s Mary Mitchell Center faces tax lien battle, Bronx Times | Sarah Valenzuela | May 15, 2018
It’s time to stop tax lien sales from snaring New York City’s nonprofits, City & State: NY Nonprofit Media | Council Member Antonio Reynoso | May 15, 2018
CityViews: The Council Must Protect Nonprofits from Lien Sales, City Limits | Rev. Richard Hartley | November 9, 2017
New Bill Would Protect Hundreds of NYC Community-Owned Properties, Next City | Oscar Abello | June 26, 2017
Not-for-Profits Facing Tax & Water Liens Get Reprieve from City, City Limits | Jarrett Murphy | June 2, 2017
City delays tax lien sales for houses of worship, other nonprofits, The Real Deal | Will Parker | June 1, 2017
City must stop tax-lien sale or erroneous bills will trigger foreclosures, Crains | Paula Z. Segal | May 9, 2017
Hundreds Of Nonprofits At Risk Of Having Their Tax Debt Sold—Even Though Many Should Likely Be Tax Exempt, Gothamist | Nathan Tempey | May 9, 2017
New York City Must Prevent Nonprofit Properties from Falling to Private Capital, City & State New York | Josh Bisker | May 3, 2017
Tax Trouble for Hundreds of City Non-Profits as Lien Sale Nears, City Limits | Jarrett Murphy | April 14, 2017
Tax Lien Sale Threatens Hundreds of NYC Nonprofits, Next City | Oscar Abello | March 24, 2017
Opinion: City Must Remove Nonprofits from Tax Lien Sale, Gotham Gazette | Richard Semegram | January 6, 2017
For Sale: Nonprofits, Urban Omnibus | D.W. Gibson | November 9, 2016
CityViews: Stop the Tax-Lien Sales That Will Destroy Community Gardens, City Limits | Paula Z. Segal | May 10, 2016