A column by David McKay Wilson in The Journal News describing renovations at the Chappaqua home of Sandra Lee (of the Food Network) and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, has been picked up by the New York Post.
It's all about renovations at 4 Bittersweet Lane, which Lee described in interviews with USA Today, New York magazine and others.
What you need to know:
- The estate, which Lee named Lily Pond, was assessed in 2008 at $1.7 million; sold to Lee in 2008 for $ 1.2 milion; and is now assessed at $936,000, according to lohud.com.
- New Castle Building Inspector Bill Maskiell told Wilson he "had to hound" Lee to file for building permits for a gazebo and shed she had built; and that she did not apply for permits for some renovations described in those media interviews such as knocking down a wall to combine two spaces.
- Town assessment records do not include a finished basement, Wilson said.
- Cuomo aide Larry Schwartz said the renovations were purely decorative.
It's all about property taxes, argues Wilson: "Keeping one's assessment from rising — or getting it reduced — is all part of suburban living in high-tax Westchester, and there are plenty of homeowners who do work to their homes without a permit. It's also a county where most municipalities have not revalued their real estate for decades, leaving thousands of homeowners with houses assessed and taxed at less than what they are worth."
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