Brewer and Lee read questions on tax lien sale practices and list mitigation
The chairs ask why DOF ignored its own practices of publishing the bare minimum for tax lien sales, why properties below statutory thresholds were included, and what steps DOF is taking to mitigate confusion or misuse of the published information.
Despite this is from her 24,000 properties remaining on the list after this initial screening, finance sent out 17,000 notices.
What accounts for the difference between the two?
Prior to mailing out the letters, did finance do an analysis of how many individuals on the list had filed taxes in 2025 listed New York City?
As their primary residence?
If so, how many residents will mail letters?
Okay, next set of questions.
For the past 30 years,
years, the city has published annually lists of properties that are eligible for the city's tax lien sale.
Recognizing that elevating a list like this creates a target for predatory actors, the city's practice had long been to publish the bare minimum necessary.
The lessons from that do not appear to have been followed here.
The list published by DOF did not only include names, but also properties that would qualify for the tax due to the value of the property.
Why did DOF ignore its own practices in terms of publishing the bare minimum?
If the owner name is not needed for the lien sale, why is it needed here?
Why publish a list that includes properties whose DOF market values come nowhere near the statutory minimum value required to be subject to the tax, rather than clearly distinguishing those properties from the much smaller universe that could actually be subject to the tax?
What steps is DOE taking, sorry, DOF, taking now to mitigate confusion or potential misuse of the information that was published?