"Families can face foreclosure and displacement simply because they fell behind on bills, often by just a few thousand dollars. While the sale can be effective in collecting taxes placed on commercial properties and apartment complexes owned by larger landlords, the reality is that it unfairly targets thousands of New York's small homeowners over comparatively small arrears for property taxes, sewer bills or emergency repairs."
"a woman in her 90s who was blind and should have been exempt from the lien sale because of her age and disability. But the city's rigid rules require homeowners to repeatedly recertify exemptions-even when nothing about their eligibility will ever change. When she visited a service center with her granddaughter, staff failed to renew her exemption and instead put her in an unaffordable payment plan."
"Thousands remain on the lien sale list, facing excessive fees and risk of foreclosure. Many are older adults or long-time residents, who missed notices or couldn't navigate the system in time. Since its infamous introduction by then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the tax lien sale has disproportionately harmed low- and moderate-income homeowners, particularly in Black and Latino neighborhoods, and our elderly neighbors, accelerating displacement and housing insecurity in communities that have already borne"
New York City restarted its tax lien sale this summer, selling rights to collect unpaid property taxes and water bills to private investors. Families can face foreclosure and displacement for arrears often of just a few thousand dollars. Nearly half of properties on the lien sale list were one- to three-family homes. Rigid recertification requirements and missed notices leave many older adults and long-time residents vulnerable. A blind woman in her 90s was improperly removed from an exemption, put on an unaffordable plan, had her lien sold, and was sued in foreclosure before an attorney reversed the sale. The program disproportionately harms low- and moderate-income homeowners, especially in Black and Latino neighborhoods, accelerating displacement and housing insecurity.
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