By Jon Schuppe
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The Bloomberg administration has accused the Nigerian government of shorting the city millions of dollars in property taxes for a 22-story Midtown East building that serves at its diplomatic headquarters.
City lawyers estimate the unpaid bill, dating back to 2002, to be at least $4.1 million, and perhaps as much as $16 million, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
The lawsuit is the city’s fifth in recent years seeking back taxes from foreign governments with diplomatic missions in New York. The city has settled with the Philippines and Turkey for $14 million, and is still fighting with India and Mongolia over $46.7 million.
New York is home to 192 permanent foreign missions and 110 consulates, which receive tax exemptions for the official use of its buildings. But the city argues that some countries use their buildings for commercial enterprises or in other ways that are not exempt from taxes.
“Especially in these tough economic times, we will go after every dollar that is owed to city taxpayers,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement on Tuesday. He added, “For non-diplomatic uses, we expect foreign governments to pay their fairs share of property taxes, just like all New Yorkers do.”
The city’s dispute with Nigeria concerns the country’s 17-year-old building on Second Avenue, called Nigeria House. It is home to the Nigerian consulate and Nigerian mission to the United Nations, but other offices have been leased to the United Nations, private businesses and residents who are not part of the official Nigerian mission or consulate, the city said.
City lawyers cited a Nov. 23 story in the Nigerian newspaper The Guardian, about the building's neglect. The article said the ground floor was once occupied by Nigeria Airways, and the 20th floor was set aside a Nigerian military adviser. The story also described the building’s poor physical shape, including windows that have not been washed in 15 years and furniture that has not been replaced in decades.
A spokesman for the Nigerian consulate in New York did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
