CM Mealy questions panel on safety, scam risks, and co-op board responses

Go ahead, Councilmember, no seats.

Thank you for being here.

Kyle, I mean, Kyle, I don't know.

What are you doing?

You're getting younger and younger after the fight on the streets.

So thank you for being here.

One of my questions about

The

mailing of this big list.

So now you're telling folks that where people are located, how much money they have, approximately, because Gail said she doesn't have that kind of money.

But is this a safety issue concern?

Because I'm hearing that.

Do any of you have a concern of people knowing where you're at and how much approximately your house worth?

And is that a problem?

And especially we have so many scammers around as we always, you know, been fighting against.

So anyone can answer that.

Thank you.

I would just say that it's just been totally confusing.

There's no conversation that I've had with anyone in this city that really understands the Peter Day attacks and the impact on them personally.

And I'm talking about people who've lived and worked in this city their entire lives.

And so there's lack of clarity, and that's a problem.

That's a problem.

You're rolling out such an important piece of legislation, and people don't understand whether or not it has an impact on them personally.

People, we're not talking about the wealthy.

We're not talking about billionaires.

We're talking about everyday New Yorkers who spent their entire lives in service to making this city better.

So, hey, I think there's, you know, the lack of clarity, lack of information that's available to people around the rollout of the Peter T.

Tax is a challenge.

Councilman, if I could just address that also, I think...

A foreign actor has already downloaded that list.

and can very easily do a mailing, make it look like it's from a city official, and say something like, pay $50 or $100, and so you won't be subject to the tax.

There are plenty of seniors, unfortunately, who already know all too well that they can be victims of scams.

This is a perfect opportunity for those with bad intent to reach out to seniors on that list and target them for fraud.

And on the letter you receive or your friend receive, do they give them an opportunity to appeal if they need to?

Any option that you have, like they have?

Do they get any?

Yeah, no, I mean, absolutely.

But I think the process is that the burden is on that person, not on the government itself.

And I think that they have that inverted.

And so they've put people, again, seniors in an awkward position.

You know how hard it can be just to having a senior upload information to their social security account.

And now we're asking them to do something they've never done before and or hire an attorney to do it, which adds an additional cost and burden.

The burden is reversed.

It should be on the city, not on the citizen.

I got you.

The co-op, I'm still having a little problem with that because I know I'm dealing with a lot of folks.

And like you said, some of the condo, they may worth whatever they are mine.

And in the long run, you cannot even sell it for probably three quarter of the price if you're lucky.

So.

The surcharge, I'm wondering how the board is taking it.

Is the board dealing with that and how they help the folks?

And most of you are probably seniors in the condo or co-op.

So in your case, do they give opportunity to discuss how we're going to face the challenges of the surcharge?

Rebecca, go ahead.

So a lot of boards and property managers have been providing education and holding meetings with their shareholders and union owners to explain the tax and the rollout.

The concern is really...

For a co-op is what happens if the PIA-TER is actually a PIA-TER and the shareholder doesn't pay the $40,000 or $80,000, then the rest of the building would need to make up that amount.

So in a 10-unit building, if the charge is $80,000, you know, all the other shareholders are kicking up slightly less than $8,000 each, right, in order to pay

that portion of their real estate taxes.

So that's the primary concern for co-ops.

I can see that.

So thank you for your time.

And pied-à-terre, if we get the meaning of it, is just a little laying on the ground to have a little.

But now we're going to have to redefine what pied-à-terre is.

Thank you.

Thank you.