Tax Relief Brought To Queens Residents

Gioia, c., Taylor, r., and Comrie, l., look on as a resident is pre-screened for the ERDA tax prep service.

Councilmember Eric Gioia joined Bishop Mitchell G. Taylor, President of the East River D e v e l o p m e n t A l l i a n c e , C o u n c i l m e m b e r Leroy Comrie, local leaders, advocates, and Queens residents to kick off the tax preparation season in Long Island City. For the third year in a row, Gioia and ERDA have partnered with FoodChange and Citizens for NYC to educate low-income New Yorkers about the tax credits they are entitled to and prepare their taxes for free provided they meet certain income thresholds. The free tax prep site was tops in the City last year, returning nearly $700,000 to neighborhoods in Western Queens and tripling the number of returns prepared since 2005 when the program began.

"We're rewarding hard work, cutting red tape, and expanding opportunity for New Yorkers, while also pumping millions of dollars into our City's economy," said Gioia, who represents Long Island City, Woodside, Sunnyside, Astoria and Maspeth in the City Council. "The people of New York work hard day in and day out and they're entitled to what is rightfully theirs. Far too many of our citizens are unaware of tax relief or are tricked into rapid rip-off scams, but with a free, trust worthy tax prep service in our neighborhood, some of the City's hardest workers will have that much more to smile about."