NYC’s Unfair Property Tax Code Turns 50: A Birthday Party and Panel

50 years ago, a court ruling reshaped New York City's property tax system. Today, that system has evolved to favor the wealthy and disproportionally burden renters, communities of color, and large multifamily buildings.

On March 31, 2025, CSS and the Progress and Poverty convened a panel discussion on the evolution of NYC's inequitable property tax code. This event brought together policymakers, advocates, and researchers for a powerful discussion on the city's tax regime and opportunities for reform that lay ahead.

Panelists include:

• Iziah Thompson, Senior Policy Analyst, CSS
• Stephen Hoskins, Director of Community Research and Engagement, PPI
• Martha Stark, former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance, Policy Director of Tax Equity Now New York (TENNY)
• Alex Bores, New York State Assembly Member (District 73)
• Francesco Brindisi, Executive Deputy NYC Comptroller for Budget and Finance, NYC Office of the Comptroller

Marking the 50th anniversary, the CSS and PPI collaborated on a report, "Footing the Bill: Fifty Years of NYC Overtaxing Tenants, Towers, and Low-Income Communities of Color," to clearly explain the system's problems and opportunities for reform. Decades of articles and analyses have shown how the core design of NYC’s property tax system and its supplemental web of tax breaks results in comical comparisons and contributes to various types of inequity.

Read the report to learn more.

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