Assembly Bill A10832

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  10832

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                             April 23, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. SPANO -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Cities

AN ACT to establish the "Yonkers storm assessment relief act"

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
the "Yonkers storm assessment relief act".
  S 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this act,  the  following  terms
shall have the following meanings:
  1. "City" shall mean the city of Yonkers in the county of Westchester.
  2.  "Catastrophically  impacted"  shall mean a parcel of real property
where there is cause to believe the value of which was diminished by  50
percent or more as a result of the weather.
  3.  "Property  owner"  shall  mean  the  owner of real property who is
responsible for payment of real property taxes on such property.
  4. "Weather" shall mean the storms, rains, or floods which occurred in
the city during the period beginning March 12, 2010 and ending March 14,
2010.
  S 3. Local option. The city council  of  the  city  may  exercise  the
provisions  of this act by passing a resolution on or before May 1, 2010
resolving to implement the provisions of this act.
  S 4. Assessment relief for storm victims.  Notwithstanding  any  other
provision  of  law to the contrary, a property owner whose real property
is in the city and whose property has been catastrophically impacted  as
a  result of weather may seek administrative review or correction of the
valuation assigned to such real property  or  the  improvements  thereon
pursuant  to the provisions of article 5 of the real property tax law. A
city assessor shall also seek administrative  review  or  correction  of
valuations  on any real property he or she believes was catastrophically
impacted as a result of such weather.
  In the event such review or correction is sought, the board of assess-
ment review, in making such determinations as it is otherwise authorized
to make pursuant to the provisions of the real property tax  law,  shall

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD16973-01-0
              

A. 10832                            2

consider  the  taxable  status  date  to be April 1, 2010 instead of the
taxable status date otherwise provided for in the real property tax law.
  Any  complaint  by a property owner, who is seeking a lower valuation,
shall not be required to suggest such valuation to the board of  assess-
ment  review, but such suggestion may be made by the city assessor, even
if such assessor is not the party  who  has  made  the  application  for
assessment review.
  In  the  event the city assessor seeks an administrative determination
before the board of assessment review of any property he or she  is  not
an  owner  of  or  otherwise  entitled  by law to seek an administrative
determination from such board, such assessor shall also seek an adminis-
trative determination and a lower valuation of all such real  properties
he  or she believes were catastrophically impacted by weather within the
city.  Such determination may be sought in a class  application  by  the
city  assessor  to  the  board of assessment review.  The failure of the
city assessor to seek such a determination for all such catastrophically
impacted real properties shall  not  impair  the  effectiveness  of  any
review  sought  by a property owner against such assessor and a cause of
action against such assessor for failing to include any specific proper-
ty or class of properties in the assessor's class application. The board
of assessment review may accept applications for  administrative  review
of the assessment of any catastrophically impacted property up until and
including  May 28, 2010; provided that where such an application has not
been submitted by that date, the city assessor  or  property  owner  may
nonetheless  seek correction of the assessment in the manner provided by
article 5 of the real property tax law.
  The rights contained in this act  shall  not  otherwise  diminish  any
other  legally  available  right  of any property owner or party who may
otherwise lawfully challenge the valuation or  assessment  of  any  real
property  or  improvements  thereon. All remaining rights including, but
not limited to, the right to seek correction of the  assessment  and  to
judicially  challenge  such  assessment  or  valuation hereby remain and
shall be available to the party to whom such rights would  otherwise  be
available notwithstanding this act.
  S  5. School districts held harmless. The Yonkers city school district
shall be held harmless by the state for any reduction in state aid  that
would  have  been  paid as tax savings pursuant to section 1306-a of the
real property tax law incurred due to the provisions of this act.
  S 6. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  be  deemed  to
have been in full force and effect on and after July 1, 2009.