A public hearing for Bronxites on property tax reform will take place on Monday June 14.

In 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson established an advisory commission to develop recommendations to make the City’s property tax system simpler, clearer, and fairer. City officials said they did so while ensuring there was no reduction in the revenue used to fund essential City services. In early 2020, the Commission released a preliminary report, which included ten initial recommendations for property tax reform.

The preliminary report also included a brief history of New York City’s property tax system, the current methods that the City’s Department of Finance uses to calculate property tax bills, and challenges with the existing tax system. The Commission initially planned in-person hearings on this report but these were postponed due to COVID-19.

The commission is now seeking input from the public on the initial ten recommendations at a Bronx borough-based Zoom hearing which will be held on Monday, June 14, at 6 p.m. City officials say that all New Yorkers are urged to read the report, attend the public hearing and make their voices heard, adding that feedback from New Yorkers will be critical to the Commission as it develops its final recommendations.

To testify, residents must sign up on the Commission’s website no later than 24-hours in advance. All hearings will be broadcast to the NYC Council’s virtual hearing rooms, with a link on the Commission’s website: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/propertytaxreform/index.page. The preliminary report can also be viewed on this website.

To ensure the Commission hears from all those interested, speakers should plan to speak for no more than two minutes.  Commission members may use additional time to ask the speaker questions. Elected officials will be given the opportunity to speak first. All other participants will be heard in the order in which they sign up.

Speakers may (but need not) submit their testimony ahead of time by emailing it to PropTaxInfo@propertytaxcommission.nyc.gov, or by uploading it to the Commission’s website.

The Commission is also holding other borough-based public hearings, with another being held in Manhattan on June 16. Hearings occurred on Staten Island on May 11, in Brooklyn on May 27, and in Queens on June 9. Residents can testify at any borough hearing, not just the borough where they reside.

To request interpretation services, email PropTaxInfo@propertytaxcommission.nyc.gov or call (212) 676-3072 by 5 p.m. three business days before the hearing. For ASL, or to request an accommodation for a disability, please email or call by 5 p.m. five business days before the hearing.