Maybe it’s the quarter of a billion dollars he’s amassed while admittedly using steroids. Or perhaps it’s the fact that he’s rumored to have a portrait of himself as a centaur hanging above his bed.
Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the fact that TV cameras caught this timeless image of him being hand-fed popcorn by Cameron Diaz during the Super Bowl; A-Rod enjoying a mid-game snack in the most A-Rod way possible.
Whatever the reason, there’s no denying that Bostonians, many baseball fans, everyone living outside of the Five Boroughs view Alex Rodriquez as the embodiment of all that’s wrong with the modern athlete. And now, for reasons entirely removed from the baseball diamond, A-Rod’s NYC neighbors are turning against him as well.
So what’s sparked this Big Apple backlash?
The Yankee third baseman will soon move into a $6 million, 5 bedroom luxury West Side penthouse. A-Rod’s property tax bill? A paltry $1,150 for each of the next 10 years. That’s less than the price of a decent ticket to a single Yankee home game, and 1/50th of the normal property tax assessed on a similarly priced NYC home.
To be fair, A-Rod isn’t getting a break simply for manning the hot-corner for sport’s most storied franchise. Rather, every resident of this newly built high-rise is entitled to this same property tax reduction under the city’s 421A tax abatement program. Under the program, luxury developers get tax incentives in exchange for promising to build affordable units elsewhere.
Needless to say, others in NYC aren’t thrilled with the idea of a man making $33 million annually paying so little in property taxes.
“I think my constituents feel a sense of outrage,” NYC Councilman James Vacca said.
“To find that someone rich like this is paying so little, it just goes to our core our feeling that this is not right. This has got to be addressed.”
The councilman said the law needs to be changed because this year alone the program will cost the city $900 million in lost revenue. Of course, I have a feeling Mr. Vacca will be happy to let bygones be bygones the first time A-Rod doubles off the wall to beat the Sox in the bottom of the ninth.
[...] currently resides in a $6 million West Side penthouse, on which he pays only $1,150 annually in property taxes. The Big Apple is not so generous with its income taxes however, imposing a maximum state and city [...]
[...] currently resides in a $6 million West Side penthouse, on which he pays only $1,150 annually in property taxes. The Big Apple is not so generous with its income taxes however, imposing a maximum state and city [...]