Statement of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg:
New York, NY – February 1, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — “Today Governor Cuomo signed two important bills into law that were passed by the Legislature earlier this week. The first piece of legislation revitalizes the J-51 program for the first time in nearly 20 years and will incentivize residential building owners to make improvements on their properties – fixing essential, building-wide systems and improving the long-term stability of buildings. Further, it allows for a more streamlined administration of the program, which will allow for quicker approvals of applications – ensuring that tenants have access to safe, affordable and decent housing for years to come. The bill also restructures the property tax abatement program for cooperatives and condominiums which expired in July. The new and improved program provides for a fairer system that will include more co-op and condo residents, including 98 percent of the co-op and condo owners outside of Manhattan.
“The second piece of legislation adjusts the calculations the New York City Independent Actuary will use when determining the City’s annual pension obligation. The changes will bring the assumptions used in the calculation more in line with current market and pension expense realities. The bill also provides a Personal Income Tax credit to approximately 40,000 S-Corporation owners of mostly small businesses, which are also subject to the General Corporation Tax. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Governor Cuomo, Speaker Silver and Majority Coalition leaders Skelos and Klein, Senator Marty Golden, Assemblyman Peter Abbate and Assemblyman Keith Wright for their action on these important pieces of legislation.”
