RED HOOK — Thousands of homes and businesses in Sandy-hit neighborhoods will pay less in property tax next year, officials announced Tuesday.
Roughly 53,000 properties will have their taxes reduced for the coming year, totaling almost $90 million in savings, because property values in those neighborhoods have dropped in the wake of the storm, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Department of Finance Commissioner David Frankel said at a press conference.
“And that’s 90 million that will stay in the community hit hardest by Sandy,” Bloomberg said.
The tax reductions are part of the city’s attempt to assist storm-damaged neighborhoods, like Red Hook, said Bloomberg, who made the announcement at Liberty Warehouse at 260 Conover St.
Calling Red Hook a “growing community,” Bloomberg mentioned his support for a few local businesses during his announcement, including the warehouse and the Red Hook Winery, both of which were pummeled by last year’s storm.
The market value was dropped for about 88,000 homes and businesses, which includes those that “suffered damage and properties that saw a drop in market value because of overall local damage” after Hurricane Sandy, Bloomberg said.
The new values reflect the reassessments to individual properties, as well as “across-the-board” reductions in market value, according to the press release.
The reassessments came after the Finance Department inspected more than 6,000 properties across the city.
One- to three-unit residences, along with buildings with more than three units, including co-ops and condos, will have their market values reduced by 15 percent.
Market values for commercial buildings, including offices, factories, stores, hotels and lofts, will see a 10 percent drop, officials said.
