N.Y. Real Property Tax Law § 499-h: Confidentiality

§ 499-h. Confidentiality. 1. Except in accordance with a proper

judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for

the commissioner of finance, any officer or employee of the department

of finance, the president or a commissioner or employee of the tax

commission, any person engaged or retained by such department or such

commission on an independent contract basis, or any person who, pursuant

to this title, is permitted to inspect any information submitted by an

applicant to the department of finance pursuant to this title or to whom

a copy, an abstract or a portion of any such information is furnished,

to divulge or make known in any manner any such information to any

person not authorized pursuant to this title to inspect such

information. The officers charged with custody of such information shall

not be required to produce any of it or evidence of anything contained

in it in any action or proceeding in any court except on behalf of the

commissioner of finance in an action or proceeding under the provisions

of this title, or on behalf of any party to any action or proceeding

under the provisions of this title when such information or facts shown

thereby are directly involved in such action or proceeding, in either of

which events the court may require the production of, and may admit in

evidence so much of such information or of the facts shown thereby, as

are pertinent to the action or proceeding and no more. Nothing herein

shall be construed to prohibit the inspection by the legal

representatives of the department of finance or the tax commission of

such information submitted by any applicant who shall bring an action to

correct an assessment. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the

delivery to an applicant or the applicant's duly authorized

representative of a certified copy of any information submitted by an

applicant to the department of finance pursuant to this title; or to any

agency or any department of any city having a population of one million

or more provided the same is requested for official business; nor to

prohibit the inspection for official business of such information by the

corporation counsel or other legal representatives of a city having a

population of one million or more or by the district attorney of any

county within such city; nor to prohibit the publication of statistics

so classified as to prevent the identification of such information or

particular items thereof. Information submitted by an applicant to the

department of finance pursuant to this title shall not be subject to

disclosure pursuant to article six of the public officers law.

2. Any violation of the provisions of subdivision one of this section

shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or by

imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, at the discretion of the

court, and if the offender be an officer or employee of the department

of finance or of the tax commission, the offender shall be dismissed

from office.