Mayor David Makes Ownership Change to Conform to STAR Rules

A downtown Binghamton property that had been owned by an LLC now is owned by Mayor Richard David to qualify for the state School Tax Relief credit.

Confluence Properties LLC, a limited liability company controlled by David, was the owner of the three-story building at 45 Court Street since 2007.

David said city assessor Scott Snyder had "granted the STAR benefit based on primary residence as opposed to the form of ownership."

The mayor said the matter recently "was brought up by someone who was launching a false narrative against me."

Speaking on WNBF Radio's Binghamton Now program, David said there have been "a lot of people" during his administration and the previous administration who had incorrectly been granted STAR credit for properties owned by LLCs.

The mayor said after the issue was brought to his attention, he "made the change from an LLC to my name to bring it into compliance."

According to Broome County property records, the ownership change was made on February 28.

Tarik Abdelazim, who ran against David in the 2017 election, in February questioned an assessment reduction that had been granted to the mayor for the Court Street property.

David said the assessor approved the change after he made a "very thorough analysis" of the situation.

Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com

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