Mike Bloomberg, truly a man of compassion. Oh, and if you have any guns or 20-ounce sodas in those homes you better give them up now.

Homeowners in an exclusive waterfront enclave in Brooklyn thought Hurricane Sandy was as cruel a blow as they could suffer — until the taxman proved them wrong.

The city is claiming that property values have actually shot up for many homes in Manhattan Beach and it’s going ahead with hefty tax hikes for the houses devastated by the October superstorm, shocked property owners told The Post.

Homeowners in other neighborhoods hit by Sandy, including Coney Island, the Rockaways and parts of Staten Island, also said they’ve received increases.

“This is totally insensitive and heartless,” said Ira Zalcman, president of the Manhattan Beach Community Group, which has received more than 30 complaints from residents about the hikes.

“We just sustained one of the worst national disasters in our nation’s history, and now the city is delusional, claiming our property values went up.”

Zalcman said that since Sandy, he has spent roughly $100,000 repairing the basement of his Dover Street oceanfront home, for which he pays more than $7,000 a year in property taxes.

He estimates his tax bill will go up nearly $200 for the fiscal year beginning July 1 because the city claims his property’s market value rose by $79,000 to slightly more than $2 million, increasing the home’s assessed value for tax purposes. He claims he’d be lucky to get $1.5 million.

Meanwhile, other owners facing tax hikes say their homes are so badly damaged, they have yet to complete repairs and move back.

Hard to believe since Obama showed up for a photo-op and said everything would be OK since he was on the job.

http://www.jammiewf.com/2013/heartless-b...-and-heartless/

The land is probably worth more now than before. It will be easier to develop without having to do the demolition work. I've seen it happen here after Rita. It's totally wrong but that's the way these greedy and seedy people work.

I lived on the beach in Virginia, in a tiny little house up on stilts. If it had blown down in a hurricane, I'm certain that the town would have pushed hard to keep that piece of land undeveloped because of their adherence to protecting the beach and the environment.