Tax Collectors Finally Make Amends To Double-billed Senior

Ralph Silverman boasts that he may be 85, but he still has all his marbles. So when he paid last April’s quarterly property tax, but was again billed the same sum with late penalties, he noticed.

The NYC Dept. of Finance, he said, did not.

Silverman says he attempted six separate times over nine months to correct the agency’s records, each time sending a duplicate of the $885 electronic transfer that had been drawn upon.

“They never answered any of my letters, or paid attention,” he said.

Hoping that others in government could help, Silverman says he then asked no less than seven other officials, including local politicians, to help him get through to the DOF.

State Sen. Tony Avella, D-Bayside, who was the only one who did assist Silverman, found out that the agency had misapplied his payment to another taxpayer’s account.

The same mistake had occurred three years ago, according to Silverman, though he says he indicated his correct lot number, and followed the correct tax protocol. Last time he was spared a runaround, because the error was immediately fixed.

“Unfortunately, administrative errors do happen within City and State agencies and the homeowners are oftentimes held at fault,” said Avella.

The DOF has made a name for itself out of such errors.

Last year, thousands of Queens co-op residents were hit with up to 147 percent home assessment increases. DOF’s Commissioner David Frankel testified in a City Council hearing that the increases were partially due to faulty computer software. Despite the commissioner's testimony, the agency now denies there was any system failure.

The DOF did not respond for comment when asked about Silverman’s charges, but Avella says he was finally able to get the agency to acknowledge payment, and expunge the $19.86 penalty.