View letter to City Council
View letter to Mayor Bloomberg

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. expressed his disappointment on the Banking Commission’s decision today to recommend to the New York City Council the same interest rate charges that were imposed last year for the non-payment of real estate taxes and the non-payment of water and sewer rents.

“I am disappointed that the Banking Commission did not support my recommendation. Homeowners are facing enormous financial hardships, and lowering these interest rates by at least 1.75 percent would have helped ease the burden on New Yorkers experiencing financial hardship.”
           
In a letter to the Council – which can be viewed at www.comptroller.nyc.gov – Thompson stressed that the recommendations from the Banking Commission will be provided despite his objections, and urged the Council to consider rejecting them.

Last year, the City Council imposed interest rates for the non-payment of real estate taxes and water and sewer rents for Class I properties (assessed at or below $250,000) at 9 percent annually. For Class II properties (assessed above $250,000) the rates were 18 percent annually. These percentages were linked to the prime rate as established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank. When these rates were adopted last year, the prime rate was 5.09 percent. Since that time, the prime rate has dropped to 3.25 percent.

“During the past year, our country has confronted unprecedented economic challenges, and just as President Obama has addressed the many facets of the economic crisis with intelligence and compassion, I urged the Banking Commission do the same in this instance,” Thompson wrote. “It is my hope that you will consider the merits of my argument and similarly reject the recommendations choosing instead to reduce these interest rate charges.”

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