§ 459-B — Physically disabled crime victims

§ 459-b. Physically disabled crime victims. 1. Where the resident\nowner of real property used solely for residential purposes as a one,\ntwo or three family residence, a member of a resident owner's household\nor a resident of such property is a victim of a crime as defined in\nsubdivision five or good samaritan as defined in subdivision seven of\nsection six hundred twenty-one of the executive law and was physically\ndisabled as a result of such crime, any improvement to real property\nshall be exempt from taxation to the extent of any increase in value\nattributable to such improvement if such improvement is used primarily\nfor the purpose of facilitating and accommodating the use and\naccessibility of such real property.\n 2. To qualify as a physically disabled crime victim or good samaritan\nfor the purposes of this section, an individual shall submit to the\nassessor a certified statement from a physician licensed to practice in\nthe state of New York on a form prescribed and made available by the\ncommissioner which states that the individual has a permanent physical\nimpairment which substantially limits one or more of such individual's\nmajor life activities, except that an individual who has obtained a\ncertificate from the state commission for the blind stating that such\nindividual is legally blind may submit such certificate in lieu of a\nphysician's certified statement. In addition, a copy of a police report\npertaining to the crime from which the injury resulted, a report from\nthe office of victim services or other evidence or documentation which\nwould tend to substantiate that a physical disability was inflicted upon\nan individual as the result of a crime shall also be submitted to the\nassessor.\n 3. Such exemption shall be granted only upon application by the owner\nor all the owners of the real property on a form prescribed and made\navailable by the commissioner. The applicant shall furnish such\ninformation as the commissioner shall require. The application shall be\nfiled together with the appropriate certified statement of physical\ndisability or certificate of blindness and police report, crime victim's\nboard report or other substantiating documentation with the assessor of\nthe appropriate county, city, town or village on or before the taxable\nstatus date of such county, city, town or village.\n 3-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or any other\nprovision of law, in a city having a population of one million or more,\napplications for the exemption authorized pursuant to this section shall\nbe considered timely filed if they are filed on or before the fifteenth\nday of March of the appropriate year.\n 4. If the assessor is satisfied that the improvement is necessary to\nfacilitate and accommodate the use and accessibility by a resident crime\nvictim or good samaritan who is physically disabled and that the\napplicant is entitled to an exemption pursuant to this section, the\nassessor shall approve the application and enter the taxable assessed\nvalue of the parcel for which an exemption has been granted pursuant to\nthis section on the assessment roll with the taxable property, with the\namount of the exemption as determined pursuant to subdivision one of\nthis section in a separate column. Once granted, the exemption shall\ncontinue on the real property until the improvement ceases to be\nnecessary to facilitate and accommodate the use and accessibility of the\nproperty by the resident crime victim or good samaritan who is\nphysically disabled.\n