Thousands may lose tax exemption

BY VICTOR G. MIMONI

Wednesday, March 5, 2008 6:04 PM EST

Tens of thousands of Queens homeowners may be losing out on state-mandated property tax exemptions if estimates supplied by one City Councilmember hold up for the entire borough.

In addition to their $400 property tax rebate from the City of New York, many homeowners are entitled to the state-sponsored STAR school property tax exemption, but either do not know about it or have not filled out an application.

The deadline for filing for STAR exemptions is Monday, March 17.

According to a spokesperson for City Councilmember James Gennaro, a diligent case worker brought the situation to their attention. He said, “We checked, and in our district alone, there were nearly 5,500 qualified homeowners who had not applied.”

“Projected across the entire borough, tens of thousands of qualified homeowners could be losing out,” he estimated.

In response to the looming deadline, Gennaro announced an emergency town meeting would be held on Monday, March 10 at 6 p.m. at P.S. 131 in Jamaica Estates. The school is located at 170-45 84th Avenue.

Each of 5,496 homeowners in Gennaro’s district who were identified by the New York City Department of Finance received an invitation to the meeting.

However, the spokesperson stressed, the town hall meeting is open to any member of the public. Staff from Gennaro’s office and the Department of Finance will be on hand to help residents.

Application forms for the STAR exemption are available by calling 3-1-1, or may be downloaded from the city’s website by visiting www.nyc.gov/finance.

Anyone with questions may call Councilman Gennaro's office at 718-217-4969, the Department of Finance at 212-504-4080, or 3-1-1.