Assemblyman Magnarelli is leading the fight to redevelop and revitalize our neighborhoods in Syracuse and our urban cores across the State. As Chair of the Assembly Committee on Local Governments, he has sponsored and passed legislation in Albany that is giving city, town and village leaders more tools to combat abandoned properties, code violations and other forms of blight. He also took the lead on funding programs intended to redevelop our downtowns.
Land Banks
Assemblyman Magnarelli was a prime co-sponsor of legislation to create Land Banks in New York (A.373-A of 2011). The Greater Syracuse Land Bank was one of the first Land Banks created and is already making a difference in combatting abandoned and blighted properties in Syracuse and Onondaga County. Land Banks allow municipalities to seize properties for back taxes and place them with a responsible entity to stabilize and redevelop them. The ultimate goal is to sell these properties to responsible buyers and return them to productive use and the tax rolls.
In Syracuse as of July 2018, the Greater Syracuse Land Bank has acquired over 1,500 properties, sold 605, demolished 239, generated $19.9 million in private investment and generated approx. $1 million a year in additional property taxes (*source-Greater Syracuse Land Bank).
Assemblyman Magnarelli has also sponsored and got passed additional pieces of legislation to strengthen and grow our Land Banks across the State. (A.8819 of 2014; A.7911 of 2015; A.7529-B of 2016 A.10375 of 2016; A.6474-A of 2017; A.8881 of 2018)
Preserving the NYS Historic Properties Rehabilitation Tax Credit
Assemblyman Magnarelli led the fight in the 2018 NYS Budget to preserve the Historic Properties Rehabilitation Tax Credit. These tax credits are vital for the redevelopment of historic buildings in our cities, towns and villages. In Syracuse, the credits helped to finance the renovation and reopening of the Hotel Syracuse. The 2018 NYS Budget extended the program for 5 years.
Helping the City of Syracuse to fight Code Violations
Assemblyman Magnarelli sponsored legislation to help the City of Syracuse combat the growing problem of code violations:
* Municipal Violations Bureau (A.6917 of 2018): This bill signed into law last year allows the City of Syracuse to establish a Municipal Bureau to adjudicate code fines. The new Bureau will allow the City to adjudicate code fines in a more efficient and expeditious manner, while still providing due process. This will help the City deal with the backlog of code violations and more effectively enforce City Codes against absentee property owners.
* Authorizes the City of Syracuse to attach Code Fines to a Property Tax bill (A.416-A of 2018): This new law sponsored by Assemblyman Magnarelli will allow the City to add long unpaid code fines to property tax bills. Currently, the only way the City can collect on unpaid code fines is to bring a costly court action. The new law will allow properly adjudicated fines to be added onto a property’s tax bill after 1 year. It does not apply to owner-occupied properties and will be used to enforce code violations against property owners that let their properties deteriorate. The law also contains protections for tenants and to be eligible the fines must equal 5% of the property’s assessed value.
Urban Renewal
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