Former CNN weekend anchor John Avlon's primary residency has come under further scrutiny amid reports he missed tax payments while benefiting from almost $2,000 a year in abatements via a Manhattan residence.
Avlon, a Democrat, is challenging the incumbent Republican Nick LaLota in New York's 1st Congressional District, which encompasses most of Suffolk County in the northeastern part of Long Island.
Avlon has claimed to have called the Sag Harbor community "home," despite citing his Manhattan condo as his primary residence on tax forms, the New York Post reported.
"This community is my home, and I've been entirely consistent about that. I left my work at CNN to run for this office in February," Avlon told News 12 out of Long Island on Friday.
Yet, according to the New York City Department of Finance Records, Avlon has pulled in close to $16,000 in tax abatements on his $3.36 million Gramercy Park co-op unit over the years. Those tax benefits are only available to units listed as a primary residence.
Other records show that Avlon was hit was tax liens of more than $1,400 on properties he owned in both March of 2008 and February of 2015.
Questions of Avlon's primary residency and therefore eligibility to represent the 1st Congressional district have become a primary campaign issue as LaLota has consistently labeled him a part-time resident of Suffolk County.
Avlon told local media last week that he and his wife, PBS Host Margret Hoover, have "lived there since 2009" and had "voted there for years."
Former New York City Finance Department Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff told the outlet although "making a false certification" of residency could amount to a misdemeanor or class E felony under state law, the city would likely "pursue a claw-back of improperly granted abatements with administrative penalties and interest."
"The real issue is that Nick LaLota doesn't live in the district," Avlon told News 12, adding "he's the only member of Congress represented by another member of Congress."
LaLota followed up the accusation against him by calling his opponent "Manhattan's Jon Avlon" and said "his claims on his own tax forms" make him a Manhattan resident.
While LaLota admitted he does not currently live in the district, he said his family has longstanding ties to the community adding, "The difference is, I've always been truthful about my residency."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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