Fierce opposition from Queens homeowners after Mayor Zohran Mamdani proposed a significant property tax hike.
What You Need To Know
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he may have to raise property tax rates in the city by 9.5% as part of his $122 billion preliminary budget plan
The nearly 10% increase would impact more than 3 million homeowners across the five boroughs
Gov. Kathy Hochul said she doesn’t see a need to raise taxes. She also said Mamdani needs to go back to the drawing board
“You ran on affordability. This is not affordability. This is actually suicide for us right here in southeast Queens,” Cambria Heights homeowner James Johnson said.
On Tuesday, Mamdani said he may have to raise property tax rates in the city by 9.5% as part of his $122 billion preliminary budget plan.
The mayor calls this a “last resort” if he can’t convince Gov. Kathy Hochul to raise income taxes on New Yorkers making $1 million or more per year.
“The path that we want to pursue is working with Albany to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, the most profitable corporations by a little bit more while ending the drain that has characterized the relationship between the city and the state so that we can balance that budget. If we do not have that state action, then the only tools that the city has at its disposal is a property tax increase. That is not a pursuit that we want to follow through on,” Mamdani said.
But Hochul said she doesn’t see a need to raise taxes. She also said Mamdani needs to go back to the drawing board.
The nearly 10% increase would impact more than 3 million homeowners across the five boroughs, including those in Cambria Heights, a neighborhood that primarily has single-family homes.
“The property taxes will displace us. It’ll push us out. We already have young people moving to North Carolina, to Atlanta, to Houston. This will hurt us. And I just think the mayor could’ve gone about this a different way and we don’t want to be a part of your negotiation tactics,” said Johnson, who organized a rally in the neighborhood Thursday evening.
The population of Cambria Heights is nearly 90% Black and 20% are senior citizens.
Residents say longtime homeowners have been forced to leave because of the rising cost of living and gentrification.
“New York state is horrible for home ownership period. So the fact that we’ve built a Black community in New York state of homeowners is really remarkable and to lose it and to sit back idly while we lose it would be irresponsible of me,” Oster Bryan, who has lived in Cambria Heights for nearly 40 years, said.
Mamdani said he plans to work with Albany to avoid the property tax increase.
The city’s budget is due by June 30, and any city budget also needs approval by the City Council.