STAR Benefits for Mitchell-Lama Residents

[consigliere]

The item below appears in the Real Estate section of the September 4th New York Post:
 
Beginning with tax bills due July 1, 2003, between 75,000 and 100,000 residents of Mitchell-Lama co-ops will be eligible to receive cuts in their real estate taxes through basic STAR (School Tax Assessment Relief) benefits, while seniors with incomes of $60,000 or less may also obtain enhanced STAR benefits.  
 
State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says these low-equity co-ops were supposed to be included in the original tax-cut legislation years ago, but city finance lawyers refused to take the applications. "It was a matter of state reimbursement," said Silver. The new legislation provides that missing financial link.
 
The co-op boards have already received requests for building and shareholder information from the Department of Finance. In November, applications will be sent to individual residents said Assemblyman Scott Stringer, chair of the Real Property Taxation Committee. These must be filed with the city by Jan. 5 to obtain the real estate tax cut - expected to average $60 for basic STAR, and more for the enhanced version.
 
"We fought really hard for it," said Stringer.
 
The so-called Brennan bill also makes real property sales data legally obtainable. Until now, everyone had to figure out a price by calculating the cost of the tax stamps on deeds. Note that the cost of co-op shares will remain a mystery.