By Erica Orden
ALBANY--Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday threw his support behind
a proposal to provide a property tax break to New York City victims
of superstorm Sandy who have rebuilt their homes, backing a key
request by Mayor Bill de Blasio to the state Legislature.
The tax break provided a moment for the two Democrats to find
common ground, after months of squabbles over issues such as
charter schools and how to fund expanded prekindergarten.
The legislation, as described at a Sandy rebuilding conference
in the Capitol complex, is intended to reduce property-tax bills
for about 1,500 New York City property owners who have rebuilt or
repaired their homes after Sandy. They would face an increase this
year because the fixes boosted the homes' value.
The legislation, which Mr. de Blasio said has been drafted but
hasn't yet been introduced, requires the support of the Legislature
and the governor, whose approval the mayor described as
crucial.
"Folks who have finally gotten their homes back together did it
after immense struggle and in most cases immense personal expense,
and we want to make sure they're not set back yet again, so this
legislation will give them immediate relief," Mr. de Blasio
said.
With Mr. Cuomo's backing and that of the legislative leaders,
the proposal is likely to sail through Albany, but its timing
remains an important question. The city is scheduled to send out
property-tax bills in about a month, and if the legislation isn't
passed by then, the city would have to refund money to individual
homeowners who receive and pay the higher bills--a potentially
messier process than amending their bills beforehand.
Mr. de Blasio said that he was optimistic the legislation would
pass in time but added that if even the refund process becomes
necessary, "either way you slice it, the same amount of money will
be returned to their hands."
The governor's backing of Mr. de Blasio's plan stood in contrast
to their recent skirmishes over other mayoral proposals, most
notably increasing taxes on the wealthy to pay for pre-K in New
York City. In their formal remarks at the event, Messrs. de Blasio
and Cuomo trotted out their now-familiar anecdotes about their
personal and professional relationship over the past two
decades.
At a separate event later, the mayor addressed some of the
disputes he has had with Mr. Cuomo this year. "Well, you know, life
is long," he said. "When you have a relationship of that depth and
history, it doesn't matter if sometimes you disagree. There's
plenty more things you agree on."
Noting some of the successes he achieved in the state budget,
like state funding dedicated to expanding full-day prekindergarten
in the city, Mr. de Blasio added: "I always say the product is what
you really need to measure by, and the product of this relationship
is in a very good place."
Mr. Cuomo addressed the possibility that federal officials may
spend more than $1 billion of the remaining $3.6 billion of
rebuilding aid on disasters other than Sandy, calling it "ironic"
that members of Congress who didn't support the funding allocation
in the first place are "trying to come and poach it."
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development--which is
administering that pot of money--has said the congressional
legislation authorizing billions of dollars in Sandy aid required
that some of it be spent on disasters in other states.
Mr. Cuomo sided with New York lawmakers who disagree.
"That money was appropriated for New York, New Jersey," the
governor said. "We think it would be disingenuous if the money did
not go to the place it was intended for in the first place."
Write to Erica Orden at erica.orden@wsj.com