#De Blasio vows not to raise NYC property taxes amid budget issues

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday promised not to increase property taxes for New York City homeowners to help bridge the city’s $1 billion budget gap caused in part by the coronavirus pandemic.

“I just don’t believe a property tax increase is the right thing and I won’t do it,” de Blasio told reporters during a City Hall press briefing when asked about possibly raising property taxes by 1 percent.

“It’s off the table period,” Hizzoner said. “People of this city are hurting in a way that just isn’t precedented.”

De Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray own two homes in Brooklyn’s Park Slope worth over $1 million each. They pay just $4,000 a year in taxes for each because they purchased the properties before neighborhood prices skyrocketed.

The mayor has been pleading for financial aid from Washington, DC, or the state to stem the city’s coronavirus-induced budget crisis.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday walked back threats from last week that he would raise taxes on the state’s wealthiest should Washington fail to grant additional federal aid to state and local governments hit hard by COVID-19.