Bronxville club paid sales taxes to Mount Vernon in 2023, but city still wants state probe

The Bronxville Field Club’s sales taxes are flowing to the city of Mount Vernon, city Comptroller Darren Morton assured city residents on Tuesday, as a probe into the club’s tax situation now turns to Albany.

That conclusion emerged from a meeting Morton had with club officials, at which they showed Morton the club’s sales tax filing to New York state for the fourth quarter of 2023 and the certificate authorizing the club to collect the tax levy.

Morton said the fourth-quarter report showed that Mount Vernon received the club’s revenues for October through December from the city’s 4% sales tax.

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“My office is appreciative to the management of Bronxville Field Club for providing information to alleviate our concerns,” said Morton. “We look forward to receiving further confirmation from the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance.”

More: Mount Vernon calls on state to determine where Bronxville Field Club’s sales taxes go

Morton has also filed a complaint with the state to discern to which municipality sales tax dollars were allocated from the club in recent years.

Darren Morton

In an email Tuesday to its members, the Field Club’s executive board told members that the club has never shorted Mount Vernon on sales tax revenues. Items subject to the sales tax at the club include annual dues, initiation fees, food and drinks, and racquet sport gear purchased at the pro shop.

“There has also been a suggestion that the BFC has paid sales tax to the wrong jurisdiction,” the board wrote. “In fact, the BFC has always paid both sales and property taxes to the City of Mt. Vernon.”

The issue has arisen because the club, whose membership comes predominantly from the village of Bronxville, has used a Bronxville postal address with a 10708 zip code on state and federal tax documents, even though the club is wholly located in Mount Vernon.  It’s website also uses the Bronxville 10708 address, though the club encourages visitors to use Mount Vernon 10552 in their GPS search bar.

The predominantly white village of Bronxville is among the county’s wealthiest municipalities while Mount Vernon, with the state’s highest concentration of Black residents, is among Westchester’s least affluent cities.

As far back as 2002, the club used the 10708 address on state tax documents, according to records obtained by Tax Watch under the Freedom of Information Law. By 2009, the club’s certificate of authority to collect sales taxes listed the Bronxville address. By 2012, the certificate of authority was changed to Mount Vernon. It still uses the Bronxville address on IRS filings.

Club claims exemption from stormwater law

Action on the sales tax issue comes as the administration of Mount Vernon Mayor Shawn Patterson-Howard has stepped up enforcement of a city law that governs its stormwater system, known as the MS4 system.

In December, it issued a violation to the club, citing the discovery of deposits of the composite stone surface called HAR-TRU that covers 12 of the club’s clay tennis courts.

“In fact, HAR-TRU is not a pollutant; it is made from a natural, crushed green stone that is also water-absorbent,” the board wrote. “Nonetheless, we are taking additional action to ensure no debris leaves the site.”

More: Posh Bronxville club keeps growing while Mount Vernon neighbors see floods

The board also insisted that the club was exempt from the city’s stormwater system law, enacted in 2009, and the subject of a 2023 consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice. The club maintains it is not required to obtain a permit to keep its connection to the city’s MS4 system.

“Some neighbors have accused the BFC of improperly connecting to the city stormwater system without a permit,” the board wrote. “In fact, the BFC has been connected to the city stormwater system since the 1930s, pre-dating permitting requirements and the building of many homes in the area.”

The 2009 law, however, states that any connection to Mount Vernon’s MS4 system requires a permit, no matter when it was made.

“Connections to the City’s MS4 without a permit are prohibited,” the law states. “This prohibition expressly includes, without limitation, connections made in the past, regardless of whether the connection was permissible under law, chapter or practices applicable or prevailing at the time of connection. A person is considered to be in violation of this chapter if the person allows …. such a connection to continue.”

Club counsel Kathy Zalantis said the club remains in compliance with city law. She said the original connection was noted on a 1920s city map, and that since 2009, the club has obtained permits for drainage work that emptied into the original connection.

“The club has and will continue to comply with the city’s Chapter 154, which deals with the city’s storm sewer system,” said Zalantis. “The club’s existing connection into the city’s storm sewer system has been in place for approximately 90 years and is documented on an official city map from the late 1920s.”

And still no permit for it.

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David McKay Wilson writes about tax issues and government accountability. Follow him on Twitter @davidmckay415 or email him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Bronxville club paid sales taxes to Mount Vernon in 2023, but city still wants state probe