You are reading

Queens Legislators Introduce Bill to Postpone Tax Lien Sale to Help Struggling New Yorkers

NYS Senator Leroy Comrie and Assemblyman David Weprin (Twitter Photo)

Aug. 27, 2020 By Allie Griffin

Two Queens lawmakers have introduced legislation that aims to block the de Blasio administration from holding its up-coming lien sale to help struggling homeowners at risk of losing their homes.

The administration’s annual lien sale is set for Sept. 4, after being postponed from its original May date due to COVID-19. The city will auction debt on tax-delinquent properties to private debt collectors.

State Sen. Leroy Comrie and Assembly Member David Weprin have introduce a bill that would bar the city from holding a lien sale until at least one year after Gov. Andrew Cuomo lifts the emergency order declaring that the pandemic is over.

The two lawmakers hope their bill to delay the lien sale would give people more time to get on their feet following the employment turmoil caused by the pandemic.

The city sells liens to debt collection companies that put together a payment plan–that includes interest– with property owners. If the property owners fail to pay they risk losing their property.

“The tax lien sale can’t happen this year, and I’m going to raise hell between now and Sept. 4 to see to it that it doesn’t,” Comrie said in a statement.

His Southeast Queens district, which is still recovering from the mortgage crisis, has as many as 600 homes eligible for this year’s lien sale.

He said the pandemic has prevented at-risk homeowners from being able to address their tax delinquency. COVID-19 has also made it difficult for the senator’s office to work with the Department of Finance to identify and assist those at risk of losing their homes, as it has done in years past.

“Homeowners facing the lien sale need ample time to consult with attorneys, enter into payment agreements [with the Dept. of Finance], and learn about exemption programs ahead of the sale,” Comrie said. “COVID-19 has made this all but impossible to do on the scale that we need it to happen.”

Comrie introduced the bill in the senate on Aug. 19. Weprin is the Assembly sponsor.

“With thousands in our city struggling with the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including many homeowners in my Assembly district and across Queens, it is absolutely unconscionable to hold the tax lien sale in 2020,” Weprin said in a statement.

Housing advocates praised the lawmakers’ legislation and said the lien sale needs to be postponed.

“Now is not the time to amplify housing insecurity in communities of color or among seniors,” said Ivy Perez, spokesperson for the Coalition for Affordable Homes, which represents over 30 affordable housing advocacy organizations.

“Those same communities, most of them low- or moderate-income, have been hardest-hit by COVID-19, and the tax lien sale threatens to further destabilize them.”

Property owners who owe money currently have until Sept. 3 to pay their debts or enter into a payment agreement with the Department of Finance to avoid being part of the lien sale.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Queens Council Members celebrate $2.5 million in funding for AAPI curriculum

Jul. 3, 2025 By Shane O’Brien

Queens Council Members Shekar Krishnan, Linda Lee, Sandra Ung and Julie Won gathered on the steps of City Hall Wednesday afternoon alongside Manhattan Council Member Carlina Rivera to celebrate the “historic” $2.5 million budget investment to support the implementation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history curriculum in NYC schools.

Woman attacked and strangled in anti-LGBTQ assault in Far Rockaway: NYPD

The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating an anti-LGBTQ attack on a woman in Far Rockaway on the night of Tuesday, June 24, and three suspects remain at large.

The 28-year-old victim was walking in front of 18-26 Village Lane just north of Mott Avenue at around 8:30 p.m. when she was approached by the three men who shouted anti-LGBTQ rhetoric before they punched her multiple times, and one of the assailants placed his hands around her neck, and strangled her into unconsciousness, police said. The three men fled the scene, just down the street from the Rockaway Village development, to parts unknown.

Forest Hills home invasion leaves man hospitalized after brutal assault and robbery: NYPD

Police from the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills are looking for three suspects who beat and robbed a 28-year-old man during a home invasion on the afternoon of Saturday, June 21. The three intruders slipped into an apartment building at 102-40 62nd Ave. at around 4 p.m.

The perpetrators allegedly forced their way into the victim’s apartment, punched him repeatedly in his body with closed fists, and forcibly removed $60 in cash and medication before fleeing the building in an unknown direction, police said Monday. EMS responded to the crime scene and transported the victim to Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, where he was listed in stable condition.