NYC Council To Vote On Tax Exemption For Disabled Vets
(The Center Square) — New York City’s disabled veterans would be exempt from paying property taxes under legislation poised for a vote by the City Council.
The bill is one of several expected to be taken up by the Democratic-controlled City Council on Thursday in honor of Veterans Day. It would eliminate property taxes on the primary homes of vets who have been permanently disabled as a result of their service in the U.S. military.
“Every veteran deserves to afford to stay in their home and to live with dignity in the city and country they fought to defend,” Council Speaker Julie Menin said in a statement.
The bill, sponsored by Councilman Frank Morano, a Staten Island Republican, would also exempt veterans’ primary residences from certain assessments and special district charges.
He said the legislation would provide property tax relief to an estimated 4,500 veteran households, costing the city’s taxpayer’s less than $5 million in foregone tax revenue.
“These men and women have sacrificed enough, and they shouldn’t have to worry about being taxed out of their own homes,” he said. “I’m grateful to Speaker Julie Menin and my colleagues from both parties for helping us deliver something more meaningful than another Veterans Day proclamation.”
Another proposal, filed by Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, would require the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development to compile and publish yearly reports on how many veterans and surviving spouses are living for city-supervised Mitchell-Lama developments.
It would also require the state agency to post annual data on how many have applied for housing and how many have been denied.
Vernikov, a Brooklyn Republican, said many veterans have complained about lengthy waits for city-subsidized apartments and a complicated and cumbersome review process.
“Too many NYC veterans lack quality housing, and too few know about their options,” Vernikov said in a statement. “My bill … mandates a report verifying that applicants receiving the veterans preference in Mitchell-Lama housing are in fact veterans and veteran spouses.”
A third bill would establish an LGBTQ+ veterans’ liaison within the Department of Veterans’ Services to provide more specialized services and care for gay, lesbian, and transgender service members. It is sponsored by the Council’s Minority Leader David Carr, a Staten Island Republican.
Carr said the new liaison would be tasked with conducting outreach to LGBTQ+ veterans, coordinating the department’s assistance with discharge characterization upgrades for LGBTQ+ veterans, and connecting LGBTQ+ veterans with programs and services
Years after the military rescinded its infamous ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, there are still thousands of veterans who were unjustly denied honorable discharges due to their identity, and have yet to receive the benefits they earned,” he said in a statement. “These patriots who served our country deserve nothing less.”
The trio of bills are set for a vote Thursday by the Council’s Veterans Committee, followed by a vote in the full 51 member council later in the day.
-Chris Wade
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