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Councilor thinks some Mass and Cass property owners should get tax breaks
By adamg on Mon, 02/07/2022 - 1:48pm
City Councilor Michael Flaherty (at large) wants to cut a break for property owners in Newmarket Square for everything they have to put up with these days.
On Wednesday, Flaherty will ask the council to authorize one of its committees to hold hearing on just how much of a tax abatement they should get. The money would go towards reimbursing Newmarket Square property owners who recently won approval of a plan to levy fees to create a formal "business improvement district," similar to the one in Downtown Crossing, to focus on improving the area's security and cleanliness.
In his formal request, Flaherty sites what he says is the area's descent into decay in recent years:
Residents, business owners and property owners in the Newmarket area have been adversely impacted by the deteriorating conditions of the neighborhood that aren’t accurately reflected in property tax valuation, including declining public safety, cleanliness and quality of life over a number of years
Flaherty says 65 of the Newmarket Business Association's members spent $3.9 million for security last year - and suffered $1.9 million in damages from the area's conditions.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Flaherty's complete request | 91.51 KB |
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Comments
Instead of giving tax breaks
Instead of giving tax breaks directly why not just pay into the BID fund instead? There is a direct connection to solving the issue.
Makes sense to me
I usually am suspect of ideas like this that smack of grandstanding, but in this instance, I do think the property owners in that area deserve a financial acknowledgment for the multitude of issues they encountered (and continue to encounter) daily.
Nah
These same commercial property owners that want flexibility from the city on tax rates will not grant flexibility to their tenants.
Any tax breaks to rich property owners need to have provisions that also benefit tenants and neighbors who live in the area and pay taxes.
City takes too
Meanwhile, the city won’t allow property owners to evict tenants that are not paying their rent, but will continue to demand property tax.
Five Car Flaherty is …
… opposed to rent control. I doubt he’d agree with you.
Seems like it'd be easier to
Seems like it'd be easier to just reassess them with the state of the neighborhood taken into account. Or is it that business owners still want their properties to look like they're XXX$ on paper (for banks) but want the tax break to help pay to scrub junkie barf off their front steps every morning?
Those mass and cass people
Those mass and cass people travel around the city. We all deserve a cut for putting up with their bad behavior.
Residential Property owners?
Residential areas affected by Southhampton/Mass/Cass should be considered into this tax abatement. The homes by Clifford Playground, Andrew Square, South End near BMC, these homes are all affected by the overflow. When a used needle shows up outside your front door, ten minutes before open house, its not ideal.
Story corrected
Flaherty's hearing request talks a lot about commercial property owners and the BID, but his actual request just says "property owners" so I removed the reference to commercial property owners.
SLO motion suicide
This is more than a reasonable idea and I support this as these businesses have suffered since at least 2016 and it does not look like things will be improving anytime soon. Read the well written article and replace the Linkage Center with Engagement Center and be well advised.
HTTPS://bariweiss.substack.com/p/slow-motion-suicide-in-San-Francisco?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
slo motion suicide
https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/slow-motion-suicide-in-san-francisco?ut...
Try this link.
LOL, no
Bari Weiss is not a serious thinker and is a right wing troll. Thanks for the link though.
are you sure she is right wing troll
Bari Weiss did not write the article, thanks for not reading it. And I beg to disagree.
https://www.bariweiss.com/resignation-letter
Yeah, thanks for checking
Why would I read an article on the substack of a person I have an extremely low opinion of and view as intellectually dishonest? It's like demanding I listen to the Rogan podcast. She quit her job at the NYT after trying to get fired so she could play the victim. She's part of the cottage industry of people complaining about cancel culture while cashing increasingly large checks.
Enjoy and no thanks.
No demand to listen to anyone
I just like to expand my mind and my experiences. If I don’t listen to others I close myself to the possible understanding of how the other thinks
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/michael-shellenberger-on-homelessness
Does the councilor care about residents?
Residents who houses are severely damaged or burnt down due to negligence by contractors often DO NOT get back all of the value of the damage. The insurance companies do their best to avoid paying. Courts take years to resolve law suits against insurance companies. The arbitration route is a farce because arbitrators will automatically bias their decisions to the folks who can provide repeat business: the insurance companies.
One of Boston's finest arbitrators did exactly that in a situation where my home was nearly destroyed. The arbitrator not only made a lousy decision but could not even be relied to do simple math.
Yes, the businesses affected in the area lost money. That is the risk of business. They have insurance companies (ha, ha). But business owners (including national owners who can make hefty campaign contributions) deserve to carry and experience the same risks as residents.