Mayor Bill de Blasio should remove more than 4,700 small homes from New York City’s annual tax lien sale list to protect homeowners during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Every year, the New York City Department of Finance (DOF) is conducting tax lien sale, which imposes mandatory 5% surcharges, legal fees, and a 9% or 18% interest rate that compounds daily. This year, the tax lien sale is set on September 4.
On Monday, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and a group of 57 elected officials called on Mayor de Blasio to help protect homeowners from experiencing more suffering.
In the letter, Attorney General James and her fellow elected officials strongly encouraged Mayor de Blasio to remove small homes from the city’s 2020 tax lien sale list and abstain from selling such liens until the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
They wrote, “As the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues its dramatic impact on the welfare of all New Yorkers, it is essential that the City of New York take special precautions not to exacerbate the crisis further within the city’s own borders.”
