NEW YORK — Last month, City Councilmember Dan Halloran (R-Queens) called on the city to give overtaxed co-op owners an extension to contest their assessments. 
 

On Friday, the city responded. The Tax Commission has announced it will give Tax Class 2 homeowners, a class that includes cooperatives, until March 6 to contest their assessments, an extension of five days from the original March 1 deadline. 
 

Halloran made the request after the Department of Finance released its property tax roll two days later than expected. He noted that numerous co-op owners have had issues with their assessments, including the now-infamous “glitch” in the Department of Finance’s property database that resulted in many co-op owners seeing their properties assessed at wildly inflated values. 
 

“Finally, middle-class homeowners in New York City are getting a break,” Halloran said. “I hope that with this extension, co-op owners can make sure their assessments are not unfairly increased any more than they have to be. I thank the city for being flexible and admitting that homeowners deserve more time to contest assessments, and potentially save precious tax dollars for their families.”
 

The change was announced to Halloran via a letter written by Glenn Newman, president of the City of New York Tax Commission, dated Jan. 27 and received yesterday. Halloran’s letter to the Department of Finance was sent on Jan. 25, the same day he issued a press release calling for the extension. 
 

“In these trying times, working people need all the help they can get,” Halloran said. “Co-ops are the last bastion of middle class families in this city, and I am fighting to make sure they can afford to stay here for generations to come.” 
 

Property owners may contest their assessments through either Small Claim Assessment Reviews or tax certiorari proceedings in State Supreme Court.