You are reading

Queens Officials Want Sports Arenas to Pay More Taxes to Help Economic Recovery

Citi Field (Wiki)

Sep. 3, 2020 By Michael Dorgan

Queens Council Members Costa Constantinides, Jimmy Van Bramer and Antonio Reynoso are among a group of elected officials who want New York sports arenas and franchisees to pay more taxes to help the cash-strapped city get through the current economic crisis.

Nine city council members–including the three from Queens– have called on the governor and mayor to demand that arenas pay property taxes once fans are allowed back into sports stadiums.

The council members said that the sports arenas and franchises have benefited from an unbalanced tax system and have paid little into city coffers – despite relying on public services like mass transportation to help run their organizations.

As a result, they said, the city has lost out on billions of dollars over the past number of decades that have could have been spent on education, sanitation, and other public services.

The lawmakers penned a letter on Aug. 24 that was sent to Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio calling for tax laws on sports arenas to be amended.

“For far too long, this City has given a free pass to our beloved teams when it comes to property taxes, out of fear they’ll somehow pack up their bricks and beams and head across the Hudson River,” the letter reads.

The lawmakers wrote that the city can barely collect $9 million to save the New York City Community Schools program or make up the $106 million slashed from the Dept. of Sanitation due to recent budget cuts.

“We can’t fall for this bluff anymore,” the letter reads.

“This is an opportunity to prove these teams truly care about the schools they send players to visit or are invested in the mass transit they recommend people take to the game.”

The lawmakers recommend that the State Legislature repeal the 1982 tax break on Madison Square Garden. They said that this allowance saved the arena from paying $41.5 million in taxes for FY 2019, citing figures from the Independent Budget Office.

They also called on the city to renegotiate the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, and the Barclays Center. PILOTS are payments paid to government in place of taxes, usually property taxes. Currently, the stadiums pay PILOTs for the construction debt they owe.

The lawmakers said that all New York institutions should pitch in and pay their share to help with the economic recovery.

“We love our teams, but we love our constituents more. When the economy goes bust, it’s our duty to provide services the private sector cannot,” they wrote.

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

Advocates urge passage of New York for All Act as Assembly session nears end

Jun. 16, 2025 By Jimmy Robles

As the State Senate concluded its legislative session on Thursday, immigrant rights advocates renewed calls for lawmakers to pass the New York for All Act before the Assembly adjourns on Tuesday, June 17. The proposed legislation, along with several other immigration-related bills, remains pending as the clock winds down on this year’s session.

Queens gun buyback takes 74 firearms off streets, including ghost guns and assault weapons: DA

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Monday that 74 firearms were taken off the streets at the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York in Jamaica during a gun buyback event on Saturday, June 14. The weapons were exchanged for bank cards pre-loaded with cash, with no identification required and no questions asked.

“Gun buybacks serve as a critical tool for reducing gun violence and promoting public safety within our communities,” Katz said. “This Saturday, working with the NYPD and clergy leaders in Jamaica, we received 74 surrendered guns — including five automatic weapons. As a result, these firearms will not be used to cause heartache and tragedy.”

Suspect wanted for slashing rider during violent altercation on Q43 bus in Jamaica: NYPD

Police from the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica are still looking for a suspect who attacked a rider on board a Q43 MTA bus late last month.

A 24-year-old victim was sitting on the bus as it approached Archer Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, when a stranger began to argue with him. The verbal dispute escalated into violence when the assailant began to punch the victim multiple times in the head and body. The perpetrator then slashed the victim in the left hand with an unknown sharp object, police said. The attacker stormed off the bus and was last seen traveling southbound on Sutphin Avenue toward the Long Island Rail Road Station.

Ozone Park man indicted for kidnapping and assault of 11-year-old girl in Forest Park: DA

A Queens grand jury indicted an Ozone Park man for abducting an 11-year-old girl in Forest Park and sexually assaulting her before the victim’s father intervened in May.

Teddy Moussignac, 44, of 102nd Street, was arraigned Friday in Queens Supreme Court on a seven-count indictment charging him with kidnapping, assault, two counts of sexual assault in the first degree, and other related crimes.