New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) has called for a delay of New York City's annual water and tax lien sale and urged city leaders to help homeowners affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an October 25 letter, James asked New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) to postpone the sale, scheduled for December 17, until either the pandemic ends or the state distributes federal funds it has been allocated.
“This public health crisis has exacerbated the impact of lien sales on our vulnerable communities, and we must do all we can to allow them time to apply for federal funding, while also supplying them with the resources to help them recover,” James said in a release.
According to James, the city's finance department has not organized any in-person outreach events that would give homeowners the chance to ask questions or obtain resources to prevent a tax lien sale. She also said her office has received reports that copies of the hardship declaration that allows homeowners adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to be taken off the tax lien sale were not included in September's list of 90-day notices.
“When the State Legislature passed the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act, they required that landlords and mortgage servicers send tenants or homeowners a copy of the hardship declaration before commencing an eviction or foreclosure action. The City should hold itself to this same logical standard and must include the hardship declaration in all future notices,” James said.
Legislation (S. 50001) signed into law September 2 by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) prevents local governments from conducting tax lien sales and tax foreclosures until January 15, 2022. But according to the New York City Department of Finance's website, the city's tax lien sale is scheduled for December 17. The notice says the sale will apply only to property taxes and charges, not to water or sewer liens.
James also argued for general reforms to the tax lien sale program to remedy its effects on New York’s most vulnerable communities and help stabilize neighborhoods across the city, saying that the impact of lien sales on communities was not created by the pandemic "and 2021 will not be the only year when the lien sale causes significant harm to our families and communities." She noted that a task force established last year by the attorney general's office and the city council will recommend actions to make the tax lien sale process fairer, adding that the city should be more considerate of taxpayers' financial situations as the pandemic persists.
The city's 2020 tax and water lien sale was temporarily delayed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) after James and a group of 57 elected New York officials urged postponement.
Hochul's office did not respond to a request for comment by press time.