Residents of all NYC’s Mitchell-Lama houses, the state’s affordable co-op housing program, are positioned to pay less in taxes, thanks to new legislation that Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to sign into law on Tuesday.
The new law, sponsored by Assembly Member Tony Simone and state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal from Manhattan, would allow city officials to pass local property tax relief for Chelsea’s Penn South residents.
It also builds on the governor’s recent budget, which automatically cuts taxes 50% for the nearly 100,000 New York City Mitchell-Lama households by providing a deeper shelter rent tax benefit.
The governor made the affordability move for Mitchell-Lama residents in part because the buildings were built in 1955 and need maintenance and updates.
However, other economic factors also contributed to the legislation.
“With inflation driving up the cost of housing across the United States, my administration is cutting taxes for Mitchell-Lama residents in New York City in half, keeping money in the pockets of nearly 100,000 hardworking households,” Hochul said. “Since I took office, the state has invested nearly $500 million in Mitchell Lamas statewide to preserve more affordable housing for middle-class New Yorkers.”
Meanwhile, Penn South faces rising operational costs, which threaten to impact building quality and future affordability for its residents, according to the governor’s office. While the city is experiencing an ongoing shortage of affordable housing, the legislation will help to preserve the long-term health of existing buildings, officials said.
Delving deeper into the legislation, which was referred to as A8651A/S7780B in the State Assembly and State Senate, respectively, NYC is now authorized to provide tax relief to Penn South.
Hochul, along with the state’s Housing and Community Renewal (HCR) agency, has made a series of investments to preserve Mitchell-Lamas throughout the city and state.
Last year, amNewYork reported on a Mitchell-Lama resident who sued the Dayton Towers building complex in Queens after her apartment was left in disrepair for two years following a fire in the building in 2022.
With rising costs of necessities from food to housing, state officials said they are ensuring that state-supervised Mitchell-Lama properties are “well-positioned” to make critical investments.
The Mitchell-Lama program was sponsored by NYS Senator MacNeil Mitchell and Assembly Member Alfred Lama and was signed into law in 1955. There are Mitchell-Lama developments throughout New York City and the state.
The new legislation builds on other affordability items that the governor put into this year’s budget, including the $2 billion inflation refund program in which the state began to distribute last month checks of up to $400 to around $8 million households, statewide.
