NEW YORK: State Legislature Grants Tax Breaks To Jillionaire Apartment Owners

The New York state legislature has approved a bill sponsored by GOP Sen. Martin Golden that will grant tax breaks to the owners of multimillion dollar apartments at five skyscrapers presently under construction in Manhattan.

The millionaires buying apartments in a soaring tower rising on 57th St. will get more than sweeping views of Central Park: They’ll also be eligible for massive city tax breaks. So will the homeowners and builders of four other luxury Manhattan condo and rental developments. Language quietly inserted into a bill that sailed through the state Legislature singled out the five developments to make them eligible for tax breaks — which could cost the city tens of millions of dollars in property taxes, the Daily News has learned. The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn), defended the tax breaks, saying the projects would create jobs and boost the economy. “These projects were ready to go,” he said. But Golden could not say who selected the five projects for special treatment. “I’m not sure where they came from,” he said.

The Daily News points out that developers of four of the projects have contributed $1.5M to state campaign committees since 2008.  The 90th floor penthouse at One57 sold for over $100M to the Prime Minister of Qatar last year. (Tipped by JMG reader Win)

RELATED: Last January the anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund wrote a bill that Golden sponsored which forces NYC to allow churches to hold weekend services at public schools.  In 2011 Golden joined with anti-gay freak show Sen. Ruben Diaz in sponsoring a bill to void New York state's recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages. The bill failed.