N.Y. Real Property Tax Law § 1805-a: Assessment of real property damaged by the severe storm that occurred on the twenty-ninth and thirtieth of October, two thousand twelve i...

§ 1805-a. Assessment of real property damaged by the severe storm that

occurred on the twenty-ninth and thirtieth of October, two thousand

twelve in a city having a population of one million or more. 1.

Generally. Notwithstanding any provision of any general, special or

local law to the contrary, any city having a population of one million

or more is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt and amend local laws

in accordance with this section to provide that the assessed value of

affected real property, as defined in subdivision three of this section,

shall be subject to the limitations provided in this section.

2. Definitions. As used in this section:

(a) "Actual assessed value" means the assessed value of real property

prior to the calculation of any transitional assessed value, and which

is not reduced by any exemption from real property taxes.

(b) "Aggregate physical increase" means the sum of physical increases

for assessment rolls completed from two thousand fourteen through two

thousand twenty.

(c) "Annual tax" means the amount of real property tax that is imposed

on a property for a fiscal year, determined after reduction for any

amount from which the property is exempt, or which is abated, pursuant

to applicable law.

(d) "Annual tax attributable to improvements" means the annual tax,

multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is equal to the

assessed value attributable to improvements on the property for the

fiscal year, and the denominator of which is the total assessed value of

the property for such fiscal year.

(e) "Assessed value" means the assessed value of real property that

was used to determine the annual tax, and which is not reduced by any

exemption from real property taxes. For real property classified as

class two or class four real property, as defined in subdivision one of

section eighteen hundred two of this article to which subdivision three

of section eighteen hundred five of this article applies, unless

otherwise provided, the assessed value is the lower of the actual

assessed value and transitional assessed value.

(f) "Assessed value attributable to improvements" means that portion

of the assessed value that was used to determine the annual tax

attributable to improvements, and which is not reduced by any exemption

from real property taxes.

(g) "Commissioner of finance" means the commissioner of finance of a

city having a population of one million or more, or his or her designee.

(h) "Department of finance" means the department of finance of a city

having a population of one million or more.

(i) "Improvements" means buildings and other articles and structures,

substructures and superstructures erected upon, under or above the land,

or affixed thereto, including bridges and wharves and piers and the

value of the right to collect wharfage, cranage or dockage thereon.

(j) "Physical decrease" means the decrease in assessed value from the

assessed value on the preceding assessment roll as a result of

destruction of property caused by the severe storm that occurred on the

twenty-ninth and thirtieth of October, two thousand twelve, such

decrease to which subdivision five of section eighteen hundred five of

this article applies.

(k) "Physical increase" means the increase in assessed value from the

assessed value on the preceding assessment roll as a result of an

addition to or improvement of existing real property as provided in

subdivision five of section eighteen hundred five of this article, for

the purpose of reconstruction or repair in connection with the damage

caused by the severe storm that occurred on the twenty-ninth and

thirtieth of October, two thousand twelve, such increase to which

subdivision five of section eighteen hundred five of this article

applies subject to the provisions of this section.

(l) "Total square footage of the improvements on the property" means,

with respect to an assessment roll, the square footage used by the

department of finance in determining the assessed value attributable to

improvements on the real property for such assessment roll.

(m) "Transitional assessed value" is the transition assessment

calculated pursuant to subdivision three of section eighteen hundred

five of this article, and which is not reduced by any exemption from

real property taxes.

3. Affected real property. For purposes of this section, "affected

real property" means any tax lot that contained, on the applicable

taxable status date, class one, class two or class four real property as

such class of real property is defined in subdivision one of section

eighteen hundred two of this article, as to which:

(a) the department of finance reduced the assessed value attributable

to improvements on the property for the assessment roll completed in two

thousand thirteen from the assessed value attributable to improvements

on the property for the assessment roll completed in two thousand twelve

as a result of damage caused by the severe storm that occurred on the

twenty-ninth and thirtieth of October, two thousand twelve; and

(b) the department of finance increased the assessed value

attributable to improvements on the property by means of a physical

increase for an assessment roll completed from two thousand fourteen

through two thousand twenty.

4. Limitation on increases of assessed value. Notwithstanding

subdivision five of section eighteen hundred five of this article and

any other provision to the contrary, increases in the assessed value of

affected real property shall be limited in the manner specified in this

subdivision.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, for

affected real property for which the assessed values on the assessment

rolls completed in two thousand fourteen and two thousand fifteen do not

reflect a physical increase, the amount of the aggregate physical

increase shall not exceed the amount of the physical decrease reflected

in the assessed value on the assessment roll completed in two thousand

thirteen. Any increase in assessed value from the preceding year in

excess of the physical increase reflected in the current assessed value,

such physical increase limited as provided in the preceding sentence,

shall be subject to the limitations on increases provided in

subdivisions one, two and three of section eighteen hundred five of this

article. In no event shall the assessed value of the affected real

property appearing on an assessment roll completed for any given year

from two thousand fifteen to two thousand twenty exceed what the

assessed value would have been that year but for any physical decreases

or physical increases reflected in the assessed values on the assessment

rolls completed from two thousand thirteen to two thousand twenty.

(b) For affected real property for which the assessed value on the

assessment roll completed in two thousand fourteen or two thousand

fifteen reflects a physical increase, the assessed value as it appeared

on the assessment roll completed in two thousand fifteen shall be

recalculated as if the limitation in paragraph (a) of this subdivision

had been in effect for the assessment rolls completed in two thousand

fourteen and two thousand fifteen. The recalculation of the assessed

value that appeared on the assessment roll completed in two thousand

fifteen shall not affect the amount of taxes that were due and payable

for the fiscal year beginning on the first of July, two thousand

fourteen. The assessed value on the assessment rolls completed for each

of the years from two thousand sixteen to two thousand twenty shall be

subject to the limitation on increases provided in paragraph (a) of this

subdivision. Notwithstanding section fifteen hundred twelve of the

charter of the city of New York and any other provision to the contrary,

the commissioner of finance is authorized to correct as provided in this

paragraph the assessed value of affected real property appearing on the

assessment roll completed in two thousand fifteen. Such correction shall

be made no later than ninety days after the effective date of a local

law adopted in accordance with this section.

(c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision, in the

event that the total square footage of the improvements on the affected

real property appearing on any assessment roll completed from two

thousand fourteen to two thousand twenty exceeds the total square

footage of the improvements on the property appearing on the assessment

roll completed in two thousand twelve, the amount of the aggregate

physical increase shall not exceed the amount computed by multiplying

the sum of the physical increases as calculated subject to this

subdivision by a fraction, the numerator of which is equal to the amount

of the total square footage of the improvements on the property for the

current assessment roll, and the denominator of which is equal to the

amount of the total square footage of the improvements on the property

for the assessment roll completed in two thousand twelve. For purposes

of this paragraph, if improvements on the property located below grade

were not included in the total square footage of the improvements on the

property for the assessment roll completed in two thousand twelve, such

improvements shall not be included in the total square footage for

subsequent assessment rolls if the improvements were moved above grade

or other building elevations were constructed on the property to prevent

or mitigate flooding as part of reconstruction or repair in connection

with the damage caused by the severe storm that occurred on the

twenty-ninth and thirtieth of October, two thousand twelve.

5. Rulemaking. The commissioner of finance shall be authorized to

promulgate rules necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section.