Park Slope Brownstones' Days Of Low Taxes Could End: Report

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A multi-million dollar brownstone in Mayor Bill de Blasio's home Park Slope neighborhood paid roughly the same in taxes as a ranch-style home in the Bronx, the New York Times reported.

So why does a Prospect Park millionaire pay the same in property taxes as an outer borough working stiff? An advisory commission report released Thursday laid the blame on the city's antiquated property tax system.

The New York Times used a Park Slope brownstone at 104 Prospect Park West as the poster child for the system. It reported that home currently listed for sale at $8 million paid only $20,000 in taxes.

That's the same as a $2 million home in the Bronx, it reported.

De Blasio, who owns two homes worth $1 million in Park Slope, acknowledged the inequities in the current system.

"So the recommendations that have been put out so far will lead to me paying more in property taxes, period," he said Friday on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. "And I believe that's fair."

The commission recommended homes be taxed by their full market value, which the New York Times reported will result in brownstone owners in Park Slope and near Central Park paying more of a fair share of taxes.

It remains to be seen whether de Blasio and City Council President Corey Johnson, who both commissioned the report, push forward on its recommendations.

Another tax recent proposal highlighted inequities for the wealthy. Protestors on Friday gatheredin front of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' Midtown penthouse to support a Pied-a-Terre tax on the second homes of wealthy New Yorkers.