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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 257-04
September 29, 2004

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ENCOURAGES NEW YORKERS TO APPLY FOR $400 PROPERTY TAX REBATE

New York Homeowners Have Until to October 15th to Apply for Rebate

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today encouraged New Yorkers to apply for the $400 property tax rebate at the Robert Couche Senior Citizen Center in Jamaica, Queens. Most owners of 1-, 2- and 3-family homes, condominiums and cooperatives who live in their homes are already eligible for the $400 rebate and do not have to apply, but those who have not applied for the rebate have until October 15th to apply by filling out a New York State School Tax Relief Program (STAR) application.  Owners should call 311 to see if they are eligible for the rebate or visit www.nyc.gov for forms and other rebate information. 615,000 homeowners are eligible for the rebate and the first batch of 370,000 checks are being sent out today.  Joining the Mayor at the event was Queens Council Member James Sanders Jr.

“During the height of the fiscal crisis, it was New York’s homeowners who stepped up and made the sacrifice that got our City through a difficult time,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The $400 rebate will help working New Yorkers and our senior citizens by putting some of their own hard earned money back into their pockets.  Most New York homeowners are eligible for the rebate, but they must fill out a STAR application and return it to the Department of Finance by October 15th.”

The Department of Finance will mail checks directly to eligible property owners, including individual owners of cooperative apartments Checks will not be mailed to cooperative boards. Most eligible homeowners will receive the full $400 rebate. However, a homeowner whose annual tax liability is less that $400 cannot receive a rebate that is larger than the amount of tax he or she pays.

Owners of homes and condominiums with property tax debt greater than $25 for tax periods prior to July 1st, 2004 will not qualify for the rebate if this debt remains unpaid as of October 15.  Owners who do not use their house, cooperative, or condominium as their primary residence will not be eligible.  Owners of cooperative apartments in Mitchell-Lama housing developments will not receive the rebate, because they do not pay property taxes.

Some homeowners who will qualify for the rebate, but do not qualify for STAR -- for example, those homeowners who receive 421a, 421b or 421g property tax abatements -- must fill out a STAR application in order to receive the rebate.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Edward Skyler/Jordan Barowitz   (212) 788-2958

Sam Miller   (Finance)
(212) 669-4763




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