$300 Renters' Tax Credit Proposed

Assemblyman Keith Wright, D-Harlem, and State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, D-Brooklyn, will introduce City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's plan for a $300 tax credit for middle- and low-income renters into the state legislature, according to a council spokesperson.

On Thursday, Quinn asked Albany, N.Y. to cut New York renters a little slack. Under her plan, middle- and low-income renters in New York State-for example, a family of four making $75,000 or less, or individuals making $43,000 or less-would receive a $300 return in tax dollars.

Two-thirds of New York City residents are renters, and Quinn's plan would benefit 1.1 million renters statewide, Quinn said Thursday during her State of the City Address.

The state's homeowners have been frequent recipients of state tax breaks, and this initiative will help renters "catch-up," said State Sen. Bill Perkins, D-Morningside Heights and Harlem. "It wasn't just the homeowners that bore the brunt of [past] tax increases," he added.

Perkins said that he will sponsor the bill when it is introduced into the senate and that he is confident the bill will pass.

Quinn must rely on her supporters in the state legislature to pass the tax break, since under the 1971 Urstadt Law, New York City housing rules are determined in Albany.

Nellie Bailey, president of the Harlem Tenant's council, said Quinn's initiatives were a step in the right direction, but until New York gains control of its housing laws, the new effort would only be "a drop in the bucket" for middle- and low-income families in Harlem.

"Not to dismiss it entirely, but what is that [$300], your grocery bill for a month if you're a working family?" she said.

Bailey also said that this initiative couldn't hurt Quinn if she decided to make a run for mayor in 2009.