"A land bank is the practice of buying and holding undeveloped land for future sale, controlled by a board composed of appointees from the mayor, commissioner of finance, commissioner of housing preservation and development (HPD), and speaker of the council. The city-run land bank the council is aiming to create would have the authority to buy tax liens from the city, ideally preserve homeownership, and collect debts to create revenue for the city."
"We were doing doorknocking about the tax lien sale and a lot [of people] were residents renting from private LLCs or in two-family homes. These people are paying their money and the landlord wasn't paying the water bills or whatever municipal bills the city wants them to pay,"
The New York City Council is proposing bills to establish a city-run land bank to purchase tax liens and collect outstanding municipal debts. The land bank would be governed by a board with appointees from the mayor, commissioner of finance, HPD commissioner, and the council speaker. Purchasing tax liens aims to preserve homeownership by preventing private buyers from acquiring debts and pursuing foreclosure. The city currently sells tax liens to authorized buyers, most commonly Bank of New York Mellon and servicers MTAG Services and Tower Capital Management. Commercial properties face one-year timelines and residential properties up to three years before foreclosure, a process that has disproportionately threatened Black and Brown homeowners, seniors, and veterans. The Department of Finance republished the tax lien list in 2025 after a pause since 2020, and community organizers report renters paying bills while absentee landlords remained delinquent.
Read at New York Amsterdam News
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