In August 2018, PAI published “Buffalo’s Costly Mistake,” a report examining the little-known and widely abused 485-a property tax exemption in Buffalo. The 485-a exemption was intended to create an incentive for investors to repurpose vacant commercial and industrial buildings left in the wake of Buffalo’s deindustrialization into properties that mix residential and commercial tenants …
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Buffalo’s Costly Mistake
Amid a growing housing affordability crisis, the City of Buffalo has been compelling taxpayers to subsidize the construction of luxury housing through a state property tax exemption program called 485-a. The program, which was approved by the state government in 2002 and opted-into by the Buffalo Common Council later that year, excuses property taxes on …
Sinatra & Company owes more than $800k in property taxes, has received nearly $1.5 million in public subsidies
Nick Sinatra has quickly become one of the highest-profile real estate developers in Buffalo and Western New York, amassing a portfolio of dozens of buildings in the region with the financial backing of millionaire Congressman Chris Collins, billionaire Trump advisor Tom Barrack, and billionaire hotel heir Karen Pritzker.1 Also aiding Sinatra in building his empire …