Deal Locking Public Out Of Gramercy Park To Be 'Reassessed'

GRAMERCY, NY — Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the city should revaluate the 108-year-old court decision that restricts Gramercy Park access to certain property owners surrounding the green space.

"The bottom line is, we can safely say that people in that neighborhood are doing very well, and the park access is a very unusual situation in this city. And it should be reassessed — it’s 2018," de Blasio told Brian Lehrer Friday morning during The Brian Lehrer Show. "If it’s based on 100-plus year law of course we should reassess it and make sure that equity is governing our decisions and not a broken tradition."

A Gothamist and WNYC investigation found that owners of buildings surrounding Gramercy Park are supposed to pay higher property taxes for exclusive access to the famous park, but records surveyed by the publications found that nearby residential properties all pay roughly the same taxes per square foot, wether the properties come with keys to the park or not.

In some cases, the owners actually pay less than those without keys to the park. Gothamist and WNYC project that properties with park access would have paid an extra $13 million in taxes since 2009.

The Mayor noted that the city is in the process of reworking the property tax system.

"We’re right now in the middle of attempting a major reform, a major overhaul of our property tax system, because it clearly is inconsistent and lacks transparency, particularly between different geographical areas of the city," the Mayor told Lehrer.

"So with the City Council we have named a commission to propose an overhaul of the property tax system that then would have to be voted on ultimately in Albany and some pieces in the City Council, so this is a good time to look at the question of Gramercy Park as well."

Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Zeldman