78 South First Street Housing Development Fund Corp. v. Commissioner of Finance

202 A.D.2d 115, 616 N.Y.S.2d 405, 1994 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8727

This text of 202 A.D.2d 115 (78 South First Street Housing Development Fund Corp. v. Commissioner of Finance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
78 South First Street Housing Development Fund Corp. v. Commissioner of Finance, 202 A.D.2d 115, 616 N.Y.S.2d 405, 1994 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8727 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Florio, J.

In this tax certiorari proceeding, we are called upon to determine whether certain limited restrictions on the use and sale of the petitioner’s property must be taken into account when valuing the property in order to determine its proper value for real estate tax purposes. We agree with the determination of the Supreme Court that these restrictions need not be taken into account when making such a valuation and, therefore, affirm that court’s order and judgment granting partial summary judgment to the respondents, the Commissioner of Finance of the City of New York and the Tax Commission of the City of New York.

The petitioner, 78 South First Street Housing Development Fund Corporation, is a "housing development fund company” organized pursuant to article XI of the Private Housing Finance Law. The purpose of article XI is, inter alia, "to provide temporary financial and technical assistance to enable [housing development fund] companies to participate more effectively in existing municipal, state and federal assistance programs” (Private Housing Finance Law § 571 [emphasis added]).

[117]*117As stated in its 1981 certificate of incorporation, the petitioner was "organized exclusively for the purpose of developing a housing project for persons of low income” at 78 South First Street, Brooklyn, New York. Although organized as a corporation pursuant to Business Corporation Law § 402 (as required by the Private Housing Finance Law), the petitioner is, in substance, a cooperative. The tenants occupy their apartments pursuant to proprietary leases issued to shareholders and are referred to as cooperators in the certificate of incorporation.

Additionally, the certificate of incorporation provides for certain restrictions on the sale and use of the building and on the sale of shares owned by the individual shareholders or cooperators of the corporation. These restrictions on the sale and use of the subject property generally conform to the purposes for which the petitioner was organized (see, Private Housing Finance Law § 571).

As set forth in its certificate of incorporation, the building must be used to provide low-income housing for 15 years following its conveyance from the City of New York (hereinafter the City) to the petitioner. Additionally, during that same 15-year period, the building cannot be sold or otherwise disposed of without the prior written approval of the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

With respect to the sale of shares by individual shareholders, the certificate of incorporation provides, inter alia, that, for three years from the date of the conveyance from the City, a shareholder may retain from the sale price only the original purchase price plus the cost of certain capital improvements and the petitioner "will retain the entire balance of the sales price, if any, as a reserve for capital and operating expenses, unless 75 percent of the shareholders approve an allocation of up to 30 percent of the balance to be retained by the selling tenant co-operator.”

In 1982, the property was acquired by the petitioner from the City of New York for $7,250. The petitioner alleges that this price was the fair market value for city-owned buildings as evidenced by the City’s own resolution authorizing the sale.

The property consists of a fully occupied, five-story building containing 29 walk-up apartments. The City had previously foreclosed on the property in an in rem foreclosure proceeding. Thereafter, the property was assessed as follows:

[118]*118Tax Year Final Assessed Valuation
1982/1983 $115,000
1983/1984 $100,000
1984/1985 $100,000
1985/1986 $100,000
1986/1987 $192,000
1987/1988 $192,000
1988/1989 $192,000
1989/1990 $200,000.

In this consolidated tax certiorari proceeding, the petitioner seeks review of the assessments for the 1987/1988, 1988/1989, and 1989/1990 tax years. The petitioner contends that those assessments are unlawful and in violation of the relevant provision of the Administrative Code of the City of New York, namely section 11-207, which reads, in pertinent part, as follows:

"§ 11-207 Duties of assessors in assessing property, a. The assessors shall furnish to the commissioner of finance, under oath, a detailed statement of all taxable real estate * * *
"b. Such statement shall contain * * * the sum for which, in their judgment, each separately assessed parcel of real estate would sell under ordinary circumstances if it were wholly unimproved; and separately stated, the sum for which the same parcel would sell under ordinary circumstances with the improvements, if any, thereon. The assessors shall include in such statement such other information as the commissioner of finance may, from time to time, require.”

In the Supreme Court, the petitioner sought, inter alia, a declaration that the Commissioner of Finance could not disregard the sale and use restrictions on the petitioner’s property in assessing it. Based on the published tax rolls, petitioner argued that between the years 1982 and 1990 the property was assessed at 13 to 28 times its fair market value. The petitioner contended that the reason for the overvaluation was the conscious disregard by the respondents of the sale and use restrictions. The petitioner moved for partial summary judgment on the issue of overvaluation.

In response, the respondents argued that the property’s purchase price was not set at the fair market value. Rather, it was a price fixed by the City according to a set formula. The respondents also argued that neither the Private Housing Finance Law nor the Administrative Code prescribe any particular valuation method. Moreover, they do not proscribe the [119]*119respondents from valuing the property without taking into account the transfer restrictions contained in the petitioner’s deed and certificate of incorporation.

The Supreme Court denied the petitioner’s motion for partial summary judgment and granted partial summary judgment to the respondents. In its order and judgment the Supreme Court stated, "[Restrictions upon petitioner’s power of use and sale of its property are not relevant to the assessment thereof for real property tax purposes.” We agree with the Supreme Court that the restrictions on the sale and use of the subject property are personal to the petitioner and its shareholders and do not lessen the value of the entire parcel of real property that was assessed in this case. Thus, we affirm the Supreme Court’s determination.

The prior case of Matter of Knickerbocker Vil. v Boyland (16 AD2d 223, affd 12 NY2d 1044) is very persuasive with regard to this matter. In Knickerbocker, a divided First Department (in an opinion that was later affirmed by the Court of Appeals), determined the proper valuation for property burdened by restrictions very similar to, and in one important respect somewhat more restrictive than, those present in the case at bar. In Knickerbocker, the owner of the property in question was a limited-profit housing company organized under the Public Housing Law.

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Bluebook (online)
202 A.D.2d 115, 616 N.Y.S.2d 405, 1994 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8727, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/78-south-first-street-housing-development-fund-corp-v-commissioner-of-nyappdiv-1994.