WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz
32nd Senatorial District, Bronx County, New York
Tel. 718-991-3161
THE HYPOCRISY OF SOME NY STATE SENATORS
You should know that I have received a copy of a letter that has been
passed around to all Democratic senators to sign and to be sent to New York
State Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The letter in question starts by stating: “The 421-a program was created to
spur residential housing construction in economically struggling
neighborhoods.” However, as a recent Daily News editorial headline
accurately stated, “Apartments for billionaires should not be getting
taxpayer handouts.”
"News that omnibus housing legislation passed this year that restored co-op
and condo tax breaks and offered critical relief to homeowners struggling
after Hurricane Sandy also contained wildly inappropriate tax breaks for 5
ultra-luxury buildings has generated widespread and justified outrage.”
You should know that some of the same senators that are asking me to join
them in signing the letter, are the same ones who did not want to listen to
me, and went ahead and voted in favor of the legislation that now, because
of the Daily News editorial, want to appear “Clean and Honest.”
You should know that on January 23rd, 2013, that piece of legislation came
to the floor of the senate. The legislation, S.2320 sponsored by Senator
Martin Golden, was debated and everyone got the opportunity to express
their opinions in favor or against the piece of legislation. I took my time
speaking against it and asked my fellow senators to vote “NO”. Only 6 of
all the Democrats heard my call and voted no; they are: Senator Adriano
Espaillat, Senator Terry Gibson, Senator Bill Perkins, Senator Marcos
Serrano, Senator Gustavo Rivera and Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk, the rest voted
in favor of Bill S.2320.
Today I am including a copy of my speech on the Senate floor on January 23,
2013 expressing my opposition to the legislation in which I criticized
Senator Liz Krueger for her vote in favor of the legislation.
My complete speech during that day goes as follows:
“Senator Krueger, I just love you. I love you so much. You know, I love you
for keeping me one hour listening to you talking bad about a bill and at
the end saying "I'm voting yes." I love you. I love you.
Mr. President and ladies and gentlemen, once in a while I write a column
called "What You Should Know," It’s my way to inform my constituents and
the voters of New York of what's going on.
Today, I wrote one. And I call it, based on the Roman Empire old saying, I
entitled it "Caesar's wife should not only be pure but should also have the
appearance of purity." And by voting for this bill, we might be sending an
appearance of impurity, because this bill only benefits the rich. It is a
multi-million program of rent exemption and abatement for landlords who
renovate their buildings.
This piece of legislation, ladies and gentlemen, does nothing to protect
and strengthen tenant protection. So tenants in the City of New York will
not be protected with this bill. On the contrary, they might be put in
danger. It is just a tax benefit to developers producing luxury buildings.
This bill, ladies and gentlemen -- and I'm so sorry that Liz Krueger voted
for it -- this bill does nothing to prevent landlords from double-dipping.
That's a word that -- a nice word, double-dipping. Meaning that a lot of
them are receiving a J-51 tax credit from the government and at the same
time will be increasing the tenants' rent based on a major capital
improvement. So this bill will allow landlords to get money from the
government for the renovation based on J-51 and at the same time will allow
landlords to increase tenants' rents based on something called major
capital improvement for the same renovation.
And this bill will extend 421-a tax benefits to the owners of 15 specific
plots in 22 Midtown and downtown Manhattan which are now being developed as
luxury condominiums and office buildings. Fifteen of them. And according
to the New York Tenants and Neighbors Coalition, it seems that only five
specific developer companies will benefit from this piece of legislation.
They are number one, Extell Development Company, Extell Development
Company, for their billionaire tower, One57, Silverstein Properties, the
owner of the World Trade Center. Thor Equities, the company behind the
controversial Coney Island redevelopment for 516-520 Fifth Avenue. Number
four, Steinhardt Management, who wants to develop two former Stock Exchange
buildings in Lower Manhattan. Number five, Shoreham {ph} Association,
Incorporated, who plans to build a 30-story glass tower over the site of
the original New York Times building.
Ladies and gentlemen, these developments do nothing to address the New York
City ongoing affordable housing crisis. Therefore, to vote for this bill we
might be sending a message, an impure message, that we're only working for
the landlords and against the tenants and the regular people in New York
City.”
Now, after some of them voted in favor of that legislation, and reading The
New York Daily News Editorial they want Governor Cuomo to repeal it. And
that ladies and gentlemen is pure hypocrisy.
This is Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz and this is what you should know.
SENATE VOTING RECORD
Floor Votes:
01/23/13 S2320 Senate Vote Aye: 56 Nay: 7
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