At a joint session of the New York City Council's housing and finance committees, Department of Finance officials described how the agency administers property tax exemptions and abatements that support affordable housing, homeowners, businesses and nonprofits across the city.

"I am the assistant commissioner for property exemptions administration," Pierre DeJean said during his remarks. "Department of Finance is the administering agency for dozens of property exemptions and abatements. Each year, the Department of Finance oversees an annual expenditure of real property taxes of around $8,000,000,000."

DeJean told committee members that the city's largest investments into affordable housing flow through programs such as 421-a, J-51 and Section 420-c, which he said total "over $2,700,000,000 annually." He introduced Ted Oberman, director of commercial exemptions, who joined him for the presentation.

A Department of Finance staff member urged collaboration with council members and tenants on a new process tied to the "Article 11 tax exemption program," saying, "we look forward to working with the council to ensure the success of this new process." The staff member said the department is available to help facilitate engagement with project applicants and to identify buildings in council districts that could benefit from Article 11 and other exemption tools.

The presentation framed exemptions and abatements as tools to relieve tax burdens for older and disabled homeowners, support small businesses by creating commercial storefront opportunities, and reduce property taxes for nonprofits such as houses of worship. Officials did not announce any votes or formal council actions during the remarks.

Committee members asked questions about program specifics and next steps during the session (remarks and questions were part of the committee exchange). Department of Finance officials offered to work with council staff and tenant representatives to refine outreach and to provide additional detail on eligibility and program mechanics.

The Department of Finance presentation did not include formal motions or votes. Officials characterized the discussion as informational and as a request for continued partnership between the agency, council members and tenant stakeholders.

The department's officials and committee chairs discussed follow-up briefings; the department said it would provide additional materials and assist with district-level identification of candidate buildings for tax-exemption programs.