Bay Ridge Councilman Vincent Gentile recently inquired, via a press release, into the whereabouts of the mayor’s $400.00 property tax rebate checks – which are usually in Bay Ridge homeowners’ mailboxes by the first week of October.
Reasonable question, no?

Well, turns out they ain’t coming!

In a press conference held yesterday on the city’s $59billion dollar budget, and its $4billion dollar budget gap, Mayor Bloomberg announced 1.5billion in savings achieved through spending cuts – spending cuts that include NOT mailing you a rebate check, AND rescinding a 7% property tax cut for the next FY!

Fun, right?

Interestingly enough, the Mayor didn’t say anything about rescinding all those 25 year tax abatements his developer friends get when they build those piece of shit condo developments we’re in the process of chocking on – and are partially responsible for the credit/housing market meltdown!

The $400 dollar rebate checks were part of a 59.1 Billion dollar budget approved by the Mayor this year.

Gothamist is reporting that someone has started a peitition; and the Advance reports that S.I. Councilman Vincent Ignizio is exploring the possibility of filing a lawsuit to get the rebate checks to NYC homeowners.

Dena Libner, Councilman Gentile’s Communications Director issued this press release, saying ‘Councilman Vincent J. Gentile supports filing a lawsuit against Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his attempted rescindment of qualified homeowners’ $400 property tax rebate checks.

“The Mayor and the City Council made a legislative promise to homeowners months ago,” Councilman Gentile said. “Breaking that promise today is certainly not the ethical thing to do, and I doubt that it’s the legal thing to do.

“I support and join all efforts to compel the Mayor to make good on that promise through a lawsuit,” Councilman Gentile added. “This recession is hitting homeowners just as hard, if not harder, than it is hitting the City. To ask them to bankroll the City’s losses is counterintuitive and unsympathetic.”

Councilman Gentile is exploring legal options alongside Staten Island Councilman Vincent Ignizio.

(picture of the Councilman Gentile courtesy: Brooklyn Paper; Mayor Bloomberg: Gothamist)