New York City says it has spent over $13 million on Occupy Wall Street protests, but the owners of Zuccotti Park can't seem to scrape up the $139,000 in back taxes they owe the city.
The city Finance Department told The New York Daily News that Brookfield Properties still owes taxes from 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
"That’s obviously ironic," City Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn) noted. "Occupy Wall Street has been talking about economic disparity ... and here’s Brookfield Properties, which has worked with the mayor to keep the messengers out, not paying their share."
Williams was arrested near the Brooklyn Bridge last month during a massive Occupy Wall Street rally.
Brookfield, however, said they actually owed nothing and blamed the tax bill on a mistake by the city.
"We believe that we have paid all taxes due to the City of New York," company spokeswoman Melissa Coley insisted. "We are in discussion with the city’s Department of Finance, and we anticipate that this error will be resolved very shortly with Brookfield owing no additional funds."
In all, the city said it was owed $149 million from about 40,000 entities for unpaid taxes dating back to 2000.
(H/T: Flickr/Dan Nguyen)
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