| ROCKAWAY, NJ – Candidates for State Assembly in New Jersey must have two years of residence in order to run for the State Assembly. But when Lisa Bhimani bought her $1.6 million home on Park Avenue in Manhattan in 2015, she collected a 17.5% abatement reduction on her property taxes from the New York City Department of Finance, certifying that the “unit must be the owner’s primary residence.”
The problem for Bhimani is, she only reversed the abatement on November 10, 2018, 18 days before announcing her campaign for State Assembly in New Jersey. Not only is she ineligible in 2019, she was also technically ineligible when she ran for State Senate in 2017, too. Worse, she continued voting in New Jersey while declaring her permanent residency in New York.
“Lisa Bhimani should come clean: she either cheated taxpayers for thousands of dollars, or she is ineligible to be a candidate for the State Assembly in New Jersey in 2019,” said Rob Costello, campaign manager for Anthony Bucco and Brian Bergen. “She clearly recognized the problem by attempting to reverse her abatement days before announcing her campaign last fall. We are calling for an immediate state investigation by the Secretary of State to determine how Ms. Bhimani can possibly be a candidate for State Assembly, when she fails to meet the residency requirements of New Jersey’s Constitution.”
“It’s unfortunate Ms. Bhimani is so willing to raise everyone else’s taxes, but clearly will go to great lengths to avoid paying them herself,” added Costello.
Timeline of events:
· Bhimani purchased the Park Avenue home for $1.6 million on December 21, 2015
· Bhimani collected abatements worth over $7,000 between 2016-2018, certifying she was a permanent resident of Park Avenue, New York City
· On November 10, 2018 – Bhimani “reversed” her abatement and returned $1,503.10 for the 2018 tax year to the City
· On November 28, 2018 – Bhimani announced her candidacy for State Assembly in New Jersey
· On September 16, 2019 – After being caught, Bhimani’s campaign tells NorthJersey.com she didn’t know she had the abatement even though it appeared very prominently, multiple times per year, on her property tax bill
Questions Bhimani should answer:
· Why should 25th district taxpayers, who pay some of the highest property taxes in the country, vote for a tax cheat and liar?
· Are you willing to release your tax returns in order to confirm for 25th district taxpayers that this is the only time you’ve cheated them?
· Does your running mate Darcy Draeger condone the fact that you cheat on your taxes?
· Do you intend to withdraw from the Assembly race, given the fact that you don’t meet New Jersey’s Constitutional residency requirement for candidacy?
· Was it purely coincidental that you discovered the error, after taking thousands defrauding taxpayers for two years, right before announcing your campaign for Assembly?
· Did any of the thousands you earned from your fraudulent tax break go towards funding your campaigns for office?
· Did you knowingly violate New Jersey’s Constitutional residency requirement when running for State Senate and voting in New Jersey from 2016-2018 or was that just an innocent mistake too?
· Do you plan to reverse the full amount of your fraudulent tax break dating back to 2016? |
