Glen Cove to hike taxes in 2025 for first time in three years 

Glen Cove Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck proposed a $65.4 million budget for 2025 that raises homeowners' city property taxes by nearly 2% — the first increase in three years.

Panzenbeck said the city has to hike property taxes next year in large part because a key revenue projection fell short.

City officials expected to generate $1.14 million in revenue in 2024 from a condo development's PILOT — or payment in lieu of taxes — agreement. Developer RXR has plans to build 346 luxury condos on a vacant lot along the Garvies Point waterfront. Those condos have yet to be built, and RXR doesn't have to make PILOT payments for that project until the development is done, according to city and RXR officials.

That project is part of RXR's $1.1 billion plan to add 1,100 apartment and condos over 56 acres. So far, RXR has built about 600 units, including 55 apartments of workforce housing.

A Glen Cove homeowner would see city taxes rise by $55.36 next year under the proposal, based on a home worth $575,000. 

Had the luxury condos been completed in 2024, “I don’t think we would have had to raise taxes" next year, said Michael Piccirillo, the city’s controller.

Glen Cove would've recorded $1.14 million in revenue in 2024 and $1.17 million in 2025, under previous city projections, city officials said.

But RXR officials say the city should not have expected PILOT revenue for that development to materialize so soon. Company officials said they have no plans to build those condos in the next two years.

“Anybody sitting here two years ago, or three years ago, who couldn’t contemplate that this was happening is not watching the project,” said Joseph Graziose Sr., RXR's executive vice president of residential development. “Nothing is coming up.”

RXR officials have given no timeline for the luxury condo project and cited concern about high interest rates and the cost of construction.

Panzenbeck, a Republican, said of the PILOT revenue: “We are going to get that someday, but I don’t believe it’s going to be any day soon.”

Glen Cove councilwoman Marsha Silverman, a Democrat, criticized the city's 2016 agreement with RXR.

"They're not in default," Silverman, a Democrat, said of RXR. "It was, honestly, a bad contract without dates and deadlines."

The new budget also boosts police salaries by 2.9%, from $8.9 million to $9.1 million, an increase of $254,815. The city plans to contribute $3.3 million more to police pensions in 2025, up 15.1% from 2024's total of $2.9 million.

The city also expects to generate $700,000 from the Bus Patrol stop arm program, which Glen Cove launched late last year. City officials also expect to record a total of $2.1 million building department permit revenues. 

The tax levy will rise 0.84%, from $33.1 million to $33.4 million.

Panzenbeck's proposed budget totaled $65.4 million, up slightly from the $63.5 million budget approved last year.
 

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ