City Targets Tax Deadbeats to Pay their Fair Share

Hezi Aris Archives 24 Comments

Amicone-Phil-postulatingstance Mayor Amicone Launches Effort to Collect Taxes from Seriously Delinquent Property Owners

Yonkers, NY, September 1, 2010 — In a new program announced this week by Mayor Phil Amicone, the city is redoubling its efforts to collect millions in back property taxes from business and home-owners who haven't paid their taxes over the course of many years. 


The message to "tax deadbeats" or property owners who aren't paying their fair share: pay up, or face a foreclosure action by the city that could result in losing your property.

"Property taxes help pay for the services that keep Yonkers safe and up-and-running, and every property owner in this city has a responsibility to their fellow residents to pay their fair share. Police, fire protection, sanitation, parks and schools are all funded largely through the property tax. And when people use these services but don't pay for them year after year, they're cheating everyone else who pays their fair share," Mayor Phil Amicone explained.

He continued, "We realize it's a tough economy. Some people have lost their jobs and may be having trouble paying their recent property taxes. We have payment programs for people in that situation, and they are not who we're after. Rather, we are sending a message to people who have developed a clear pattern over several years, refusing to pay their fair share. Pay up, or we will take you to court."The program announced by the mayor represents a different approach by the city against tax deadbeats. 
To this point, the city has made regular attempts to collect on back taxes by conducting annual sales of tax liens that bring in revenue to offset unpaid property taxes. But Mayor Amicone said the sale of tax liens hasn't ended the problem of systemic abusers who refuse to pay over a number of years. 

A more permanent and aggressive approach is a long-term, citywide effort to bring all tax bills current and will focus on the prosecution of foreclosure proceedings against tax deadbeats all over the city.
Mayor Amicone said, "It will take time and resources to prosecute tax deadbeats. But in these tough economic times, we can't afford to let people cheat the system and place an additional burden on people who pay their bills. We want the message to get out. If you're behind on your taxes, you must come forward; you can't hide and hope the problem goes away. The city will work with people who come forward. But those who do not come forward run the very real risk of losing their property."To help implement the strategy, the city retained outside counsel several months ago to prosecute a test foreclosure case against one of the most delinquent taxpayers, with the ultimate plan of instituting similar proceedings citywide if the case was successful.

The case is against the landowner of 833 & 843 Nepperhan Avenue who owes more than $1.8 million in back taxes, penalties and interest over a period of many years despite they city's attempts to collect. Several corporate entities are listed at those addresses. 

The city recently won a motion for summary judgment in this case, which is still pending in court. The judge in the case has already agreed that the owner is responsible for paying those back taxes and could ultimately lose his property to foreclosure.

Since then, the city has initiated similar actions against several other tax deadbeats, and, just last month, retained the services of another outside law firm with a solid record of prosecuting similar tax cases in Greenburgh and Mount Vernon to help orchestrate foreclosure proceedings citywide. 

"Unpaid property taxes are a real problem for Yonkers and for other cities, but we've been trying to fix the problem with a band aid. This new approach is a real solution that will help us ensure equal tax fairness across the city. We may never be one hundred percent current, with every taxpayer fully paid up. But this will at least give us a way to target chronic abusers who refuse to pay their fair share," Amicone concluded

SOURCE: Press Release



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Hezi ArisCity Targets Tax Deadbeats to Pay their Fair Share

Comments 24

  1. The Propaganda Mill

    if any when wants to look up property status you can do it on the city website.
    hahahahahaha!
    http://www.cityofyonkers.com/
    click on property viewer in the lower right hand corner
    once again here’s a list of mostly IDA/CDA tax exempt properties!
    https://imo.yonkersny.gov/,DanaInfo=imo.yonkersny.gov+viewlist.aspx?sort=printkey&swis=5518&ownernamel=yonkers

  2. Love it

    Thank you for posting this. And thank you for continuing to post it. Post it everyday so if anyone missed it they can see it. Let’s all see Edelfraud for the hypocrite that he is. Bill padding! Classic Mike!

  3. CONTROL BOARD NOW

    Who gives a s#%t about Edelman and his firm!
    What matters is the popints made above.
    All of the illegal apartments would likely yield a fortune. “In the space of half a block in my neighborhood their are 3 single family houses that are 2 family dwellings. Have been for years and all of the authorities know about them and do nothing. Interesting they are all from the I’m an italian family club, many with connections to city haul.”
    Again Hezi, who owns these buildings and why aren’t they taxed as multiple family dwellings?
    Answer:
    No accountability.
    No interest in upsetting the apple cart.
    No desire to do what is right from Amicone to Lesnick etc…

  4. Oldie but a Goodie

    Lawyers for ailing 9/11 Ground Zero responders padded expenses, court papers charge
    BY Jose Martinez
    DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
    Tuesday, August 24th 2010, 4:00 AM
    Lawyers for 10,000 sickened Ground Zero workers padded their expenses by $400,000 – billing for flacks, lobbyists and so-called experts, court papers filed Monday charge.
    The law firm of Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern was accused of bulking up its bill to circumvent the 25% contingency fee agreement on a $712 million settlement hammered out for ill workers.
    “No World Trade Center responder should pay any of these costs,” said Andrew Carboy, whose firm represents 700 workers, most of them firefighters.
    Carboy’s firm, Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo, filed papers in Manhattan Federal Court yesterday, laying out its rival’s questionable billing practices.
    The court papers contend that Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern wrongly portrayed more than $220,000 in lawyers fees as costs for scientific and medical experts.
    “This is not the case,” Carboy wrote in the court documents, explaining that one of the so-called experts lost his medical license and was deemed a “threat to public health.”
    A spokeswoman for Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern did not return calls.
    Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/08/24/2010-08-24_wtc_attys_dissed__by_second_firm.html?r=ny_local#ixzz0yTTM7iBl

  5. Everybody knows

    So this week dollar fill gave away about $10 million in taxbreaks at the YIDA. Now he’s looking to get tough. Please this guy is a joke a minute. The city council ought to get that overpaid and under worked audit firm to calculate just exactly how much revenue has been lost to these tax giveaways over the last 15 years. Dollar for dollar including all of the abatements, PILOTS, Free Tax agreements, sales tax exemptions, mortgage tax exemptions. I bet in all total we would not have to pay property taxes for about 3 years or more if the truth be known.
    Another poster said that all of the illegal apartments would likely yield a fortune. In the space of half a block in my neighborhood their are 3 single family houses that are 2 family dwellings. Have been for years and all of the authorities know about them and do nothing. Interesting they are all from the I’m an italian family club, many with connections to city haul. So why does Fill, tackle this problem? Because he’s a coward,just like he was in dealing with the unions.

  6. GUS

    Also, do all residents that use a non Yonkers postal address pay COY income tax surcharge? City haul was asked and they think the state monitors it.

  7. The Propaganda Mill

    yep
    watch the foreclosures carefully and see how many properties go to the IDA/CDA and transferred to favorite developers for dollar deals, grants and loans that aren’t paid back.
    want to bet most of these properties are in the downtown Amicone and friends crashed….
    Watch.

  8. CONTROL BOARD NOW

    What about the hundreds, (thousands) of houses that look like one families, are taxed as one families but have 5 apartments?????????????????
    Tax the commercial landlords like commercial landlords!
    Get the revenue and monitor it

  9. :

    Does that include all of those who have “special” low ball deals, for 20 years. Would you like a list of all of the friends and family club? Typical

  10. Suck-It

    So for 7 years he gave it an effort. Now he’s doubling that effort? Great job dick! While I agree these people need to pay their taxes, how about we get some of the tax leachers off the tit and start working. For far too long this city, state, and country has let these people get away with this for too long. Abled body people sitting at home doing nothing and getting paid for it. Why do I have to work over 40 hours a week, pay a mortgage, bills, food, and taxes.

  11. we are not stupid

    Check out that place on the corner of Ashburton Avenue and Warburton. I saw once that the unpaid taxes were 6 figures. Why? The owner is in California.
    And what about Lorraine Lopez’s taxes? Oh, that’s right, she gets a free ride on top of the car, the perks, and the 6 figure salary for……what?
    I’d vote for Regan to be the next Mayor, but since that may mean keeping Lopez around, as if she’s entitled to something, I won’t vote for the continuation of this. I’ll vote for the candidate who will clean up the place.

  12. Amber Alert for Trapper John Liszewski

    Could this be the reason that there is litter all over the city? No money to have it cleaned up. BTW what happens when you (average citizen) obstruct a fire hydrant? I think you might get a ticket. Well the city has not cut the grass near the entrance of Untemyer Park all summer and it now way above the top of the hydrant. The litter on No. Broadway near Odell Plz. is disgraceful. Someone please tell Trapper John Liszewski that it is a sin to take money under false pretenses.

  13. The Propaganda Mill

    i guess when you do nothing for seven years Phil and then do something–you get to call it “redoubling your effort”
    you and your administration are a joke.

  14. opt out

    EXACTLY
    and tell them they should have gotten fair market value for OUR real estate instead of giving it away to the friends one dollar club.

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