Bronx Times: Your neighborhood, your newsBronx Times: Your neighborhood, your news
  • Home Pros
  • Jobs
  • News
    • All
    • By Neighborhood
    • Arts
    • Business
    • Coronavirus
    • Development
    • Education
    • En Español
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Police & Fire
    • Politics
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Transit
  • Best of
  • Things to Do
    • Local Events
    • Post an Event
    • Business Events
    • Games
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Our Network
    • amNY
    • Bronx Family
    • Brooklyn Paper
    • Brownstoner
    • Caribbean Life
    • Gay City News
    • QNS
  • Digital Editions
  • Print Subscriptions
  • Webinars
  • Podcasts
Bronx Times: Your neighborhood, your newsBronx Times: Your neighborhood, your news
  • Home Pros
  • Jobs
  • News
    • All
    • By Neighborhood
    • Arts
    • Business
    • Coronavirus
    • Development
    • Education
    • En Español
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Police & Fire
    • Politics
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Transit
  • Best of
  • Things to Do
    • Local Events
    • Post an Event
    • Business Events
    • Games
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Our Network
    • amNY
    • Bronx Family
    • Brooklyn Paper
    • Brownstoner
    • Caribbean Life
    • Gay City News
    • QNS
  • Digital Editions
  • Print Subscriptions
  • Webinars
  • Podcasts
Bronx Times: Your neighborhood, your newsBronx Times: Your neighborhood, your news
  • News
  • All
  • By Neighborhood
  • Arts
  • Business
  • Coronavirus
  • Development
  • Education
  • En Español
  •  
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Police & Fire
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Transit
  • Things to Do
  • Local Events
  • Post an Event
  • Business Events
  • Games
  • Our Network
  • amNY
  • Bronx Family
  • Brooklyn Paper
  • Brownstoner
  • Caribbean Life
  • Gay City News
  • QNS
  • Home Pros
  • Jobs
  • Best of
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Digital Editions
  • Print Subscriptions
  • Webinars
  • Podcasts
Sponsored

Op-ed | New York City’s broken property tax system

By Martha Stark Posted on January 8, 2024
Co-founder of Tax Equity Now New York (TENNY) Martha Stark.
Courtesy of NYU Wagner

For decades, it has been an open secret that New York City’s property tax system is inequitable and unfair. This regressive system, rooted in outdated and discriminatory policies, has not only exacerbated the housing crisis but also deepened the economic divide, disproportionately burdening lower-income and minority communities.  

Next week, New York’s Court of Appeals will hear arguments on a case brought by Tax Equity Now New York (TENNY), a coalition of renters, owners, civic leaders, and public policy and social justice organizations, that challenges NYC’s broken property tax system.

TENNY’s lawsuit was born out of necessity. After decades of widespread acknowledgment of the system’s failings, political leaders at both the city and state levels have repeatedly failed to act.

NYC’s current property tax system is a failure on multiple fronts: it’s discriminatory and regressive and violates the principle of uniform assessment. As a matter of law, properties within each of the City’s four tax classes should be assessed at a uniform share of its value. In practice, however, homes in certain well-off neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Manhattan are artificially assessed and taxed at far lower rates than some neighborhoods within those boroughs and lower than neighborhoods in Staten Island, the Bronx, and Queens. The practice shifts the tax burden to those who can scarcely afford it.

This is not just an abstract injustice; it’s a tangible harm that affects thousands of New Yorkers, from small homeowners to tenants who bear the hidden cost in their monthly rent.

Beyond fiscal disparity, this broken system threatens the fabric of our city, making it increasingly difficult for working-class families, essential workers, and communities of color to afford housing. Property taxes––one of the most significant expenses for small homeowners––are driving away the very people who form the backbone of our city. If we continue on this path, we risk losing the economic and cultural diversity that defines New York City, turning it into a place where only the wealthy can reside.

The case TENNY brought is not just about numbers on a tax bill; it’s about the principles of fairness and equity, and the need to put fairness over political convenience. It’s a fight to ensure that NYC’s property tax system doesn’t penalize you based on where you live or the value of your neighborhood.

Our vision is clear: a property tax system that is equitable, transparent, and fair––one that can serve as a model for cities across the nation. We envision a system where taxes are based on actual market values, not convoluted formulas that stoke inequities. We seek an end to the arbitrary penalization of communities, ensuring that all neighborhoods are taxed fairly and justly.  It’s time to replace a broken system with one that reflects the values of our city.

Martha Stark is a tax policy expert and serves as the policy director of Tax Equity Now New York, a coalition that has sued New York State and City, claiming that the property tax structure violates the Constitution and various tax laws. The former commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance, she now serves as clinical professor of practice at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. 

About the Author

More in Sponsored

  • Your Vote 2025: District 13: Contenders talk public safety
  • Your Vote 2025: District 13: Contenders talk transportation
  • Your Vote 2025: District 13: Contenders talk aging
  • Your Vote 2025: District 13: Contenders talk affordability

Jobs in New York

Add your job

  • Latham & Watkins LLPAttorney, Securities
  • L.SalzmanCleaning Person
  • Dragonetti Florist/Mill lane NurseryFlorist Manager/Designer/Sales Professional

View all jobs…

Crime

  • Parkchester Preservation Management settles with Attorney General in “tenant blacklisting” case
  • NYPD at scene in Bronx hallway where cop was shotCop wounded in shooting at Bronx apartment building while attempting to stop robbery suspect
  • Former governor andrew cuomo speaks about rikers island closure planNYC Mayor’s Race: Cuomo pledges to scrap Rikers closure plan, build new facilities on island instead of boro-based jails
  • murder Rapes still rising in the Bronx, murders and burglaries plummet in September 2025
  • close up of blue NYPD car. Cops seek four women suspects in Morris Park car robbery

Things to do in the Bronx

Post an Event

Have you ever considered how streets or
Tomorrow, all day

Still Sacred Ground: Lenapehoking 1625-2025
Wave Hill

Solo and group exhibitions at Glyndor Ga
Tomorrow, 2 am

Public Gallery Tour
Wave Hill

The upcoming Fordham Road Fair Festival
Tomorrow, 10 am

20th Annual Fordham Road Fair
Fordham Road between Grand Concourse and Elm Place

Uptown Rumble: Heavy Music in The Bronx
Tomorrow, 10 am

Uptown Rumble: Heavy Music in The Bronx Exhibit
Museum of Bronx History

Fall is peak migration time along the Hu
Oct. 12, 9:30 am

Fall Birding
Wave Hill

Root your feet in the grass and look out
Oct. 12, 10:15 am

Yoga in the Garden
Wave Hill

Derfner Judaica Museum + The Art Collect
Oct. 12, 10:30 am

Fantastical Realities: Sandra Caplan, Maya Ciarrocchi, and Ray Ciarrocchi
Derfner Judaica Museum

Join a knowledgeable Wave Hill Garden Gu
Oct. 12, 1 pm

Garden Highlights Walk
Wave Hill

View All Events…

News

  • Parkchester Preservation Management settles with Attorney General in “tenant blacklisting” case
  • NYPD at scene in Bronx hallway where cop was shotCop wounded in shooting at Bronx apartment building while attempting to stop robbery suspect
  • Zohran Mamdani and Andrew CuomoNYC Mayor’s Race: Cuomo gains ground in first poll since Adams exit, but still trails Mamdani by double digits
  • mosholu concourse Housing lottery underway for 55 units at Mosholu Concourse Apartments in Bedford Park, rent starts at $1,604
  • Andrew Cuomo exiting vehicle while putting jacket onNYC Mayor’s Race: Cuomo’s campaign gets $2.3M matching funds boost from Campaign Finance Board

Things to do in the Bronx

Home Pros

More from Around NYC

How to Keep Pets Safe This Halloween: Tips from NYC Vets
New York Family

How to Keep Pets Safe This Halloween: Tips from NYC Vets

TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT) performing at the Prudential Center.
amNY

‘TOGETHER FOR TOMORROW:’ TXT launches global campaign for mental health and holds two nights of ‘MAGIC’ at the Prudential Center

Randy_Mastro_Banner-1200×600
Schneps Podcasts

Randy Mastro, first deputy mayor of New York City under mayor Eric Adams and co-chair of the Hamptons International Film Festival

The trajectory of mpox cases in New York City so far this year.
Gay City News

NYC mpox cases increase again in September, surpassing 2025 monthly high

  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Networking Events
  • Home Pros
  • Advertise
  • © 2025 Schneps Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Sections
  • Jobs
  • Home Pros
  • Events
  • Contact