Daily News from New York, New York • 28

1 I 1 MSS! SSWS- SS rflf QUOTE OF THE DAY The list of the 50 top delinquents states a very strong case for why the city Is dramatically changing its half-century-old tax collection FRED CEHULLO, Financ Commissioner 1 -4 4m-, i 1 Msif NO. 1 tax deadbeat, city records show, is Dayton Seaside Houses in Far Rockaway. Queens (above). Royalton Hotel (below left) and Flatotel (below right) owe plenty themselves, records say. By DOUGLAS FE1DEN Daily News Business Write Deadbeat property owners are fleecing the city to the tune of $380 million a year in unpaid real estate taxes enough, to-hire nearly 8,000 cops.

The top 50 property tax de linquents alone have stiffed the city for $188 million, according to a Daily News review of. city Finance Depart-ment records, Among the deadbeats identified by Finance Department records are Ian Schrager's trendy Royalton Hotel, the CitySpire apartment tower on the West Side, the boarded-up Alexander's site on EL 59th St and venerable Wagner College on Staten Island. Leading the delinquency list is the three-building Dayton Seaside Houses in Far Rockaway, Queens, a rental I Ujf: nn apartment complex owned by three separate but interrelat- ed family partnerships, pay-ton owes an astronomical $31 million, city records The Giuliani administra- tionfacing a $2 billion deficit in the fiscal year beginning on July 1, is- aggressively attack- ing the back taxes. On May 20, it will sell tax liens on 11,000 commercial properties and apartment buildings to pri- vate investors in a plan to raise $183 million. The investors could then collect on the tax bills or foreclose on the properties.

'But the city would no longer go -through the lengthy and costly process of seizing properties on which back taxes are owed. "The list of the 50 top delin-'; quents states a very strong case for why the city is dramatically changing its half- cial Officer Stephen BoHen-bach left Disney after less than a year to become president and chief executive of Hilton Hotels Corp. Industry experts speculated that Hightower's departure could be part of a broader overhaul of Disney's operations as it integrates ABC's TV operations with its own. A spokesman for Disney said the company did not have any immediate plans to name a replacement Hightower said he plans to continue as an international consultant to Disney for a year. Renter stress and find the real Joe De Maria SUSAN WATTS OAH.Y NEWS tangled web of bankruptcies, receiverships, suits and counter-suits that have pitted the three buildings against one another, Although the total owed by three partnerships on the Queens complex is said to be $31 million, David Zukerman, whose family owns 51 pf one building and holds the mortgage to the other two, says he's so pressed for cash he's been using his credit card to buy food lately.

"People look at us like we're tax deadbeats, but it's not true," Zukerman said. "I'm strapped" Another Disnay big's cj! cetitury-old tax collection strategy" said Finance Com- missLoner Fred Cerullo. The reason why some of i those real property tax delin quencies had hit such stagger- ing -numbers was that taxes and penalties keep accumulating forever, he said. Among some of the delinquent property owners: DThe Royalton Hotel on W. 44th St, where the media elite' lunches.

property, owned by Schrager and Philip Pilevsky, is said to owe $2 9 million. Schrager spokeswoman Nancy Assuncao insisted the hotel is current on its taxes. -D Alexander's on E. 59th St, the discount giant that has been shuttered since its 1992 It is said to owe $3.3 million. Alexander's officials believe it really owes about $6 million on the site.

But it may not actually owe the city a dime because it is- owed $8.5 million for an adjusted assessment at Kings Plaza shopping -center in Brooklyn, the company said. Flatotel International on W. 52d St, the 50-story, all-suite hotel that caters to European tourists and businessmen. Euro-American Lodging, the hotel's owner, is said to owe $7.7 million. "The debt will be paid off to the very last penny" once a court battle with the building's lender is resolved, said Susan Viola, the hotel's sales director.

Bedford Gardens on Wythe Ave. in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, a 647-unit, eight-building apartment complex. The owner, Kraus Management, is said to owe $7.1 million. other factors to Kow Tloft SUSAN WATTS DAILY NEWS Senior Vice President Stephen Kraus says the company is seeking permission for a rent hike. If that occurs, Kraus said, the money will go to pay off the taxes, which he does not dispute.

Another city landmark which owes big bucks is City-Spire, the 72-story, green-domed West Side condo, which has $1.9 million in property taxes outstanding. Representatives for the property couldn't be reached for comment Meanwhile, the No. 1 dead- beat on the list, Dayton Sea--side Houses, is caught up in a LOS ANGELES Walt Disney Co. said yesterday-that Dennis Hightoweri-. president of its television -and telecommunications operations, will retire June 1.

v. In a statement, Hightower said he told Disney Chairman Michael Eisner and Presi- dent Michael Ovitz of his intention to retire at 55 to pursue "a variety of interests," including higher education and youth development Hightower's retirement marks the second major executive departure at Disney since it acquired Capital CitiesABC earlier this year. In February, Chief Finan There are many reasons for thinning hair. No two conditions are exactly alike. You have to be an expert to know why your hair is thinning I I 1 cause of your 5 Socsdhsng lb Sfi Aboet! 3" Repairs Refines done vfah you wait Crowns, Bridges.

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