Leonard Steinberg testifies on unfair messaging and calls for public apology

My name is London Steinberg.

I am in the real estate world, and I was a little kid in Africa at the age of 20, dreaming of coming to the United States of America, specifically because of the dream of fair and equal treatment.

That is what is specified in the Constitution of the United States of America.

Everything about the rollout of this tax has been pretty unfair and unequal and extremely punitive.

And I speak to all of you here, and I thank you, especially for those of you who were capable of showing up to something this important, because I think there's a misnomer about the numbers, and I'm going to look at some of the numbers today, but the messaging around this tax is outrageous.

And I'll give you some examples of just how outrageous it is.

Even in today's discussion, there was mention of this tax applying to apartments and co-ops, condos and co-ops, worth a million dollars or more, with a market value of a million dollars or more.

That is the message that has been sold to the entire United States of America.

All New York citizens

and around the world.

That is a false statement, because the market value that the city applies to a property is not the market value that most people would assume is market value, what it would sell for.

That means that statement is grotesquely inaccurate.

Secondly, we could talk about this being exposed to over 900,000 homeowners.

Yes, but it applies how many people live in each one of these homes?

Three?

That amounts to about 3 million New Yorkers out of 8 million New Yorkers?

That's about 40% of the population you are alienating.

But the messaging around this is so divisive and anger-fueling, and it stands in sharp contrast to the message we've been given about uniting the city and bringing us together.

New York City is the dream of people around the world, just like myself.

I dreamed of this city and I dreamed of this country because it was inclusive.

It embraced everyone.

Here you have something that is specifically and purposefully aimed at dividing, fueling anger and division.

That is wrong.

So what I'm asking today is for the mayor and for the city council to group together and come out with an apology to all New Yorkers, because it's every single one of us in this room who pay taxes.

Yes, 900 plus thousand people pay a lot of real estate taxes, but everyone in this room pays sales tax and a whole host of other taxes.

And this city hall is paid for by the taxpayers of this room and everywhere.

to do the job of the people.

And the people of New York demand that New York City is represented by its mayor and city hall as the bastion of desire throughout the world.

The world should crave to be in the city.

This sends the exact opposite message.

So I'm asking for a great, beautiful...

Video that comes out on social media because this is a very social media savvy group to apologize to all New Yorkers and to clarify the message to the world that no we are not aimed at dividing

but we're actually aimed at uniting the people of New York City.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next.

No, no, thanks.