New York, NY – In an effort to shed light on complicated and unfavorable city property tax regulations faced by homeowners, Assembly Members Phil Goldfeder (D - Howard Beach) and Nily Rozic (D, WF - Fresh Meadows) are seeking oral and written testimony ahead of an oversight hearing by the Assembly Standing Committee on Real Property Taxation. The hearing, to be held at Assembly offices in Manhattan on January 22nd, is intended as a comprehensive evaluation of current city property tax codes and follows an earlier call by Goldfeder and Rozic for reforms.

“Communities across Queens have some of the highest rates of homeownership in the whole city," said Assembly Member Phil Goldfeder. "Our families deserve to have a fair property tax system free of expensive red tape that discourages investing hard-earned dollars right here in the community. After everything we've seen during Sandy, it's so important that homeowners come to share their experiences and help shape the legislation that will improve the tax system."

"Queens families have been crippled by sky-high property taxes and a system that lacks accountability and transparency for taxpayers,” said Assembly Member Nily Rozic. "Through this comprehensive hearing we will work to create a system that benefits our community and determine what is being done right and what needs improvement."

The New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Real Property Taxation will be holding a hearing into the city's complicated real property tax system. According to a notice issued by the committee, the hearing is intended to evaluate the current system "in its totality" and discuss possible improvements made through new state legislation. The hearing is scheduled for Friday, January 22nd at 1:00 p.m. in the Assembly Hearing Room located at 250 Broadway in Lower Manhattan.

Last May, Goldfeder and Rozic sent a letter to Committee Chair Sandy Galef calling for a public hearing into disparities in the property tax system. Both legislators and their staffs field numerous calls at tax time from constituents seeking help understanding property tax bills, filling out exemption forms, or appealing the assessed value of their property, the letter explained.

The two legislators have long been at the forefront of improving the tax system for Queens families. In addition to providing assistance to families through their offices, Goldfeder and Rozic both supported legislation simplifying the city's complicated property tax regime by making the city's assessment information readily accessible to homeowners. Most recently, they enacted a law introduced by Goldfeder to provide thousands of Superstorm Sandy victims with property tax abatements to prevent the tax increases they faced for home repairs and improvements.

Oral testimony accepted by the committee will be limited to ten minutes' duration. Those testifying are encouraged provide ten written copies of their prepared remarks for submission to the committee's record. Homeowners that do not wish to testify at the hearing may also submit written comments to Goldfeder and Rozic to inform the committee and its possible legislative efforts.

Anyone interested is encouraged to contact either Assembly Member Goldfeder at (718) 945-9550 or via email at GoldfederP@assembly.state.ny.us; or Assembly Member Rozic at (718) 820-0241 or via email at RozicN@assembly.state.ny.us.