"Nutso" Tax Assessments Hit Boerum Hill

Interesting chatter in Boerum Hill as property owners appear to be getting frightening tax statements from the city. (Nothing like a missive entitled "Nutso Property Tax Assessment" to get our attention.) The discussion comes from the Boerum Hill Group on Yahoo. Among the comments from owners:

Has anyone else gotten a loony property tax assessment this year? I just opened mine to discover that Mayor Bloomberg thinks my house has increased 100 percent in one year. What is more, it is now worth more than any other house on the block or perhaps in the neighborhood by hundreds of thousands of dollars. This of course allows him to bill me at an outrageous rate for property that would sell at best for half the valuation. What the hell is going on NOW? First we are inundated with wiggy water bills. Now we get priced out of our own houses for valuations we cannot possibly collect? Is there no one minding the store?

Not to get too technical, but later emails indicate that assessments are "going to full market value" but that "taxes will still be based on assessed value (which has yearly limits on the percentage."

What kind of market value increases are people seeing? Apparently, 50 percent or more. One property owner reports a market value increase of $700,000. Another of $500,000. And, are you ready for this one? "We got our assessment yesterday and our value went up by $1.2 million!"

Please God, not a $1.2 million increase!