Council Member Morano introduces Intro 1051 for veterans' property tax relief

Councilmember Morano, followed by Palladino.

Thank you, Majority Leader.

I've introduced a dozen very good pieces of legislation today that I hope you'll look at, or as my staff calls them, the dirty dozen, but some I think are worthy of your consideration.

But I'm...

Particularly proud to introduce Intro 1051, my bill to provide property tax relief for New York City veterans.

We talk a lot in this chamber about affordability and about keeping New Yorkers in the communities they help build.

And for veterans, particularly older veterans living on fixed incomes and disabled veterans, property taxes can be the difference between remaining in the home they worked a lifetime for and being priced out of it.

Our veterans did something extraordinary on behalf of the rest of us.

They put on the uniform, accepted risks most Americans will never be asked to accept, and many came home carrying sacrifices that last a lifetime.

And the timing of this introduction is especially meaningful.

Obviously, tomorrow marks 25 years since September 11th, and while we remember those we lost and the first responders who ran towards danger and the thousands of Americans who answered the call to military service in the years that followed,

remembrance has to mean more than what we say at ceremonies.

It should also be reflected in what our government does, and that is what Intro 1051 is about.

It's about making New York City a little bit more affordable for the men and women who defended this country and help veterans remain in the neighborhoods where they've put down roots if they have a 100%

service-connected disability.

This isn't a giveaway.

It's a recognition of service and sacrifice and of a debt that can never be fully repaid.

I'm proud to introduce this bill.

I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting it, and I look forward to getting it across the finish line very soon, hopefully by Veterans Day.

Thank you.