Co-ops and Condos Council Gets Behind Avella Bill

A council representing more than 30,000 co-op and condo units has thrown its support behind a , D-Bayside, that would create a new property tax class for co-ops and condos.

The President’s Co-op and Condo Council voted to endorse Avella’s legislation, which is intended to address massive tax assessment increases for the units.

Under the bill, co-ops and condos would be placed into Class 1-A.

“Co-op and condo owners should have the same property tax breaks as one, two and three-family homeowners,” the senator said. “Unfortunately, the tax code places these housing units in a much higher tax bracket and equates them with landlord operated rental buildings. As a result, their property taxes are much higher.”

Avella said property taxes for co-ops and condos can be reduced in several ways: by placing the units in Class 1, which includes one, two and three-family homes or by creating Class 1-A, which would only include co-ops and condos.

The senator said he believes the latter approach is the best one.

Warren Schreiber, president of the Bay Terrace Community Alliance and a member of the President’s Co-op and Condo Council, said the group had picked Avella’s bill because it would give the property owners the same protections as private homeowners.

The council had also been weighing similar bills by state Assemblyman Edward Braunstein, D-Bayside, and state Sen. Toby Stavisky, D-Flushing.

“We knew we had to come out and support one of these bills, so we could get things moving in Albany,” Schreiber said.

The council represents an estimated 30,000 co-ops and condos in more than 50 properties in Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck, Glen Oaks, Forest Hills, Flushing and Kew Gardens.

On April 12, the council will join elected officials, including city Comptroller John Liu, at North Shore Towers to discuss issues pertaining to the co-ops and condos bill.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Schreiber said he expects as many as 400 to 500 people to attend.

Last year, co-ops and condo owners .

Deepdale Gardens and Hollis Court units experienced 50 percent increases, while Alley Pond’s went up 47 percent and Glen Oaks Village had a 20.5 percent increase.

Under Avella’s bill, any single yearly tax increase would be capped at six and 20 percent over a five-year period.