Welcome to The New Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.
THE FOLLOWING LETTER APPEARS IN THE MOST RECENT GAZETTE:
To the editor:
My first-year property law professor was an ancient Irishman who had forgotten more about property law than any of us students would ever know. One day after a class on tax liens he passed by a group ofus waiting for the elevator, and my friend was telling us how he had made good money doing foreclosures. The professor stopped, turned to the student, and in a deep gravelly voice declared:
“Young man, you’ll never get to heaven that way.”
I was reminded of that when I saw the Cortlandt press release about the upcoming property tax foreclosure auction, where the Receiver of Taxes wrote: “Have you ever wanted to purchase property at a tax foreclosure auction or hoped to get a great deal on a foreclosed property? Well, I’m excited to
announce that the Town of Cortlandt is auctioning off 3 town owned parcels.”
The folks in the tax receiver’s office are genuinely friendly and helpful, and the Receiver herself has done a fantastic job of automating the office and making it easier for residents who can’t get to the Heady Street office in person. Having dealt with the equivalent office in NYC (which has a much bigger budget and tons of staff) I am impressed by the efficiency and service-oriented tax office here in Cortlandt.
Foreclosures are a necessary part of life. If people can’t pay their taxes, the burden falls on everyone else in the community. And if people suffer no adverse consequences for not paying their taxes, soon nobody will pay their property tax. Foreclosures must be done, and by law that responsibility falls to a specific government official. Seeking to maximize recovery for the taxpayers, it would not be wise to put out a depressing press release. On the other hand, the upbeat tenor of the Cortlandt release this past Tuesday made me a bit uncomfortable.
Looking at the Furnace Dock Road property photos on the Cortlandt website was depressing. Whatever happened to the prior occupants, it was not good. Photos of a plastic Charlie Brown-style Christmas tree and the swinging child-barrier gate were particularly poignant. I hope the prior residents are in a better place and that whoever buys the foreclosed property will build a new home and enable a brighter future
for the next family.
Foreclosures are both an ending chapter and a new beginning. In the long-term they will benefit all of us as Cortlandt residents and taxpayers. For that reason, I don’t begrudge people from seeking a “great deal on a foreclosed property.” At the same time a foreclosure auction is a reminder that although we start with stars in our eyes, life doesn’t always work out the way we thought it would.
--Paul Steinberg, Croton-on-Hudson
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