Together , we helped protect 360 community spaces from the City ’ s tax lien sale
A strategy for a more resilient NYC people to publicize this information so that affected organizations could petition to be removed from the list . This successful campaign brought together grassroots and elected advocates to protect community properties from the annual sale and to champion new legislation that will stop this problem in future years . As a result , 360 community properties were removed from the list prior to the sale .
Protecting Our Places
Together , we helped protect 360 community spaces from the City ’ s tax lien sale
Every year , NYC Department of Finance sells tax debt owed to the city to private speculative debt collectors in the tax lien sale . This sale routinely includes active nonprofits , even though they are exempt from paying taxes as per New York State law .
In February , in direct response to our advocacy , the NYC Department of Finance published a list of charity properties with recent tax-exemptions heading to the 2017 Tax Lien Sale . There were 536 nonprofit-owned places on that list . We made a map and called for
Community Land Trusts
A strategy for a more resilient NYC people to publicize this information so that affected organizations could petition to be removed from the list . This successful campaign brought together grassroots and elected advocates to protect community properties from the annual sale and to champion new legislation that will stop this problem in future years . As a result , 360 community properties were removed from the list prior to the sale .
But its not over yet ! There remain hundreds of nonprofit owned properties who were erroneously included in past sales and now are under threat of foreclosure . We are now reaching out to support the groups who own these at-risk community resources in protecting their places .
In October 2015 , NYC ’ s Department of Housing Preservation and Development invited 596 Acres to be a community partner on the Resilient Edgemere Community Planning Initiative , an initiative that would revise the Edgemere Urban Renewal Area Plan . This planning effort built on conversations 596 Acres started with residents , nonprofits and city agencies about updating the active Edgemere Urban Renewal Area Plan immediately following Hurricane Sandy ’ s devastation in 2012 .
At a series of public workshops and meetings , 596 Acres advocated that resident-led campaigns to create community gardens be included in the plan . We also amplified residents ’ demands for a community land trust to allow long-term community stewardship of land .
This March , we learned that the final version of the Resilient Edgemere Community Plan protects existing community space resources , identifies community gardens as a strategy for communities to adapt to increased flood risk , including the Edgemere Coalition Garden on Beach 43rd Street , and includes a community land trust as strategy to facilitate long-term affordability and resilient stewardship .
We are thrilled to see the City embrace community land trusts as a strategy for a more resilient Edgemere and NYC . In coming years we hope to support New Yorkers in advocating for community land access to be central in future city planning .