It has been estimated that as much as $300 million worth of real estate is not taxed by Westchester County, the town of Eastchester, or the Eastchester Fire District. The reason for the discrepancy between taxability and market value, for example, for properties listed on the assessment rolls of Bronxville is because the assessments for these homes are hopelessly outdated.

Even so, correct assessments exist for school taxes, but this, nevertheless still leaves approximately $1.7 million of revenue that Eastchester is unable to collect on properties, drastically reducing their ability to provide much needed services. Per student spending is roughly $30,000 each year.

A Tax Watch investigation was launched with findings that show 88 homes in Bronxville are assessed at a minimum of $1 million less than they are worth. An additional 259 properties are recorded at $537,000 lower then their true value, and this comprises 20% of the town’s total parcels zoned for residential use. Of these, 74 are situated on prime locations, such as Park and Prescott Avenues.

According to the town supervisor of Greenburgh, Paul Feiner, the situation is ‘inequitable and unfair.’ He went on to say that some in Eastchester are remitting more in taxes than is accurate while others are paying less. Suffolk County and Westchester likewise have egregiously outdated assessment records.

18 of the 25 Westchester municipalities have had no reassessments conducted since 1987, and for 8 of these, it has been at least 50 years. New Rochelle’s is from 1936, White Plains and Cortlandt did theirs in 1953, and Yonkers’ assessment was done in 1954.

These areas are notable for being some of the wealthies in the country, and Bronxville is listed as number 8 on Bloomberg’s 2018 ‘America’s 100 Richest Places’. Average household incomes are $335,000 a year. The area boasts notable residents, such as NFL players and Hank Greenberg, a member of the Detroit Tigers, inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

It is hoped that this look into the vastly disparate assessments will prompt action into rectifying this situation. If you are taxed at a rate that is not commensurate with your property’s value, contact Sokol Group. We have experience in reducing tax bills for the hundreds of clients and can start the property tax grievance process for you today. We serve Westchester, Rockland, and Orange counties and those living in the Hudson Valley.

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