STATEN ISLAND — Hurricane Sandy victims who paid property tax bills even after their homes were destroyed will be getting a break from the city.
The City Council passed legislation on Wednesday night to give a rebate on taxes paid for homes significantly damaged by Sandy, the Staten Island Advance reported.
The checks — which will be mailed out in August — will give an average of $629 back to homeowners and $3,000 for business owners, Council Speaker Christine Quinn told the Advance.
"You would think it might be automatic... that if you lost your home or your home was really damaged, that your property tax bill would be rebated," Quinn told the Advance. "That was not the case."
The rebate will take the value of property lost by the storm, calculate the tax from the date of Sandy until June 30, and return that amount, the Advance said.
Councilman James Oddo, co-sponsor of the bill, told the paper he wanted the legislation to cover all hurricane victims, not just the hardest hit.
"Some folks are gonna say, 'Well, it's really not enough.' Yeah, you're right, it's not enough," Oddo told the Advance.
"It's what we can get now with this administration, and believe me, it was a struggle to get this."
