Princeton U dining club loses bid for tax exemption

   TRENTON — Assemblyman Reed Gusciora said Wednesday that Princeton Borough can finally claim victory in its fight to prevent one of Princeton University’s exclusive eating clubs from gaining a tax-free lunch at the expense of local property taxpayers.
   According to a letter sent to Princeton Borough’s clerk, the state Supreme Court has denied the Cottage Club’s appeal of state law requiring it to pay property taxes, effectively halting the private club’s legal attempts to dine-and-dash on its $61,000-plus annual tab.
   ”The Cottage Club’s only reason to exploit its century-old building’s historic status was in a blatant attempt to spare it from paying property taxes,” said Gusciora (D-Mercer). “Luckily, the Court has seen through this scheme and spared Princeton Borough’s property taxpayers from picking up the tab for a few, privileged individuals.”
   The Cottage Club’s suit stems from two laws Gusciora sponsored – in 2004 and 2007, respectively – to prevent private nonprofit institutions from claiming historic buildings not accessible to the public as property tax exempt. The 2004 law requires such sites to be open to the public for at least 96 days each year as a condition for receiving the state Department of Environmental Protection’s historic-based tax break. Gusciora’s 2007 law made that statute retroactive to 1999; without that retroactivity, Princeton Borough would have had to reimburse the club more than $383,000 in back property taxes.
   The Cottage Club’s private, members-only mansion was built in 1904 and assessed in 2007 at $1.56 million; its property tax bill for that year was $61,144.70. Had the appeal been successful, allowing Princeton University’s other 11 eating clubs to become property-tax-free, local taxpayers would have been forced to make up more than $500,000 in lost revenues.
   ”The Cottage Club sought to abuse the spirit of the historic property exemption,” said Gusciora. “In denying this appeal, Supreme Court has rightly taught a timeless lesson: there is no such thing as a free lunch.”