Amd §§1981, 1982 & 1984, rpld §1982-a, RPAP L (as proposed in S.9470 & A.5337-A)
Repeals alternative notice provisions for certain proceedings to convey title to abandoned commercial and industrial real property to a city, town, or village.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A967
SPONSOR: McDonald TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property actions and proceedings law, in
relation to notice of certain proceedings to convey title to abandoned
commercial and industrial real property to a city, town, or village; and
to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to amend Chapter 837 of the Laws of 2022 to
effectuate the intent of the law.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 clarifies that the maintenance code violations that have been
outstanding for at least one year required for an action under this
article to be brought are those that have the potential to injure or
endanger the health or safety of others or to reasonably annoy others.
Section 2 outlines acceptable service of process for these types of
actions. Further, it extends the timeframe for a mortgagee to either
commence a proceeding to close the mortgage or enter into an agreement
with the department to bring the building back into compliance to 45
days.
Section 3 repeals provisions of law related to alternative service of
process.
Section 4 extends the amount of time allowed for procedural challenges
from ninety days to one-hundred and twenty days. Further, it extends the
amount of time during which new purchasers or incumbrancers of a proper-
ty which had its deed vest title to the city, town or village can be
affected or impaired from ninety to one-hundred and twenty days.
Section 5 establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Municipalities across. New York have been struggling to deal with aban-
doned properties for decades. Property owners have been walking away
from their properties since the beginning of the decline of New York's
manufacturing industry in the 1970s. As a result, nuisance properties
now litter upstate New York presenting particularly tough challenges for
local governments, because responsible property owners frequently cannot
be located to address and remediate nuisance conditions.
Furthermore, these properties are generally worth less than outstanding
liabilities and maintenance requirements and as a result the local
government and its taxpayers assumes the responsibility on maintaining
and remediating nuisance conditions thereon.
In addition to these negative impacts on the local municipalities, aban-
doned properties frequently languish in a legal limbo of non-ownership
that prevents the property from being redeveloped, placing further
strain on limited local government resources, while blighting the commu-
nity and depressing the values of surrounding properties. This legis-
lation will greatly facilitate the process of clearing title to aban-
doned property, which will foster economic development.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as a
chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the real property actions and
proceedings law relating to authorizing special proceedings to convey
title to abandoned commercial and industrial real property to a city,
own, or village, as proposed in legislative bills numbers 5.9570 and
A.5337-A, takes effect; provided that the amendment to article 19-B of
the real property actions and proceedings law made by this act shall not
affect the expiration of such article and shall expire and be deemed
repealed therewith.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
967
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 11, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the real property actions and proceedings law, in
relation to notice of certain proceedings to convey title to abandoned
commercial and industrial real property to a city, town, or village;
and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 1981 of the real
2 property actions and proceedings law, as added by a chapter of the laws
3 of 2022 amending the real property actions and proceedings law relating
4 to authorizing special proceedings to convey title to abandoned commer-
5 cial and industrial real property to a city, town, or village, as
6 proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 9470 and A. 5337-A, is amended
7 to read as follows:
8 (b) In the case of a vacant commercial or industrial real property, it
9 is not sealed or continuously guarded as required by law or it was
10 sealed or is continuously guarded by a person other than the owner, a
11 mortgagee, lienor or agent thereof, and either of the following facts
12 exists:
13 (i) A vacate order of the department or other governmental agency
14 currently prohibits occupancy of the commercial or industrial real prop-
15 erty; or
16 (ii) The tax on such premises has been due and unpaid for a period of
17 at least one year; or
18 (iii) The property has had a zoning, building or property maintenance
19 code violation [which] that has the potential to injure or endanger the
20 health and safety of others or to unreasonably annoy others and that has
21 been continuously outstanding and not remediated for a period of at
22 least one year from the date the original order to correct or notice of
23 violation was served upon the property owner pursuant to subdivision
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04014-01-3
A. 967 2
1 four of section three hundred eight of the civil practice law and rules
2 if the owner is a natural person, or pursuant to section three hundred
3 ten, three hundred ten-a, three hundred eleven or three hundred eleven-a
4 of the civil practice law and rules if the owner is a partnership,
5 limited partnership, corporation or limited liability company, respec-
6 tively; or
7 § 2. Subdivisions 2, 3 and 4 of section 1982 of the real property
8 actions and proceedings law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2022
9 amending the real property actions and proceedings law relating to
10 authorizing special proceedings to convey title to abandoned commercial
11 and industrial real property to a city, town, or village, as proposed in
12 legislative bills numbers S. 9470 and A. 5337-A, are amended to read as
13 follows:
14 2. The department shall serve upon the owner of the commercial or
15 industrial real property, a copy of the certification. Service shall be
16 made personally or by posting in a conspicuous place upon the commercial
17 or industrial real property and mailing a copy by [registered or] certi-
18 fied mail to the last known owner at such owner's last known address.
19 The copy of the certification shall be accompanied by a notice stating
20 that proceedings pursuant to this article may be instituted unless the
21 owner notifies the department that the property has not been abandoned.
22 Such notification shall be made by a showing that the conditions upon
23 which the findings in such certification are based do not exist or have
24 been corrected. Such showing shall be made not later than thirty days
25 after the date of such notice.
26 3. Within five days of the service of notice on the owner, a copy of
27 the certification shall be served on each mortgagee, lienor and lessee
28 of record, personally or by [registered] certified mail or overnight
29 courier to the address set forth in the recorded instrument or, if no
30 address appears therein, to the person at whose request the instrument
31 was recorded. Such copy shall, in the case of a mortgagee or lienor, be
32 accompanied by a notice that proceedings pursuant to this article may be
33 instituted unless the mortgagee or lienor, within [fifteen] forty-five
34 days of receipt of such mailing, either commences proceedings to fore-
35 close the mortgage or lien or enters into an agreement with the depart-
36 ment to bring the building into compliance with the applicable
37 provisions of law.
38 4. If the name or address of
39 (a) the last owner of record, or
40 (b) any owner, mortgagee, lienor, or claimant as shown on records
41 maintained by any city official required by any local law to maintain
42 records of persons entitled to notice or process in connection with the
43 maintenance of in rem foreclosure actions, or
44 (c) the person listed as the owner of the property on the latest
45 completed assessment roll, is different from that referred to in subdi-
46 visions two and three of this section, a copy of the notice to the
47 owner, or to a mortgagee or lienor, whichever is applicable, shall also
48 be sent to such person at such address by [registered] certified mail or
49 overnight courier.
50 § 3. Section 1982-a of the real property actions and proceedings law,
51 as added by a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the real property
52 actions and proceedings law relating to authorizing special proceedings
53 to convey title to abandoned commercial and industrial real property to
54 a city, town, or village, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.
55 9470 and A. 5337-A, is REPEALED.
A. 967 3
1 § 4. Subdivisions 4 and 5 of section 1984 of the real property actions
2 and proceedings law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending
3 the real property actions and proceedings law relating to authorizing
4 special proceedings to convey title to abandoned commercial and indus-
5 trial real property to a city, town, or village, as proposed in legisla-
6 tive bills numbers S. 9470 and A. 5337-A, are amended to read as
7 follows:
8 4. The provisions of section three hundred seventeen of the civil
9 practice law and rules shall not apply to a proceeding instituted pursu-
10 ant to this article. A motion or action to set aside a judgment in a
11 proceeding instituted pursuant to this article on the grounds either
12 that there was a failure to comply with the provisions of this article
13 as to notice or that a defect in the proceeding prejudiced a substantial
14 right of a party may be instituted within [ninety] one hundred twenty
15 days after the deed vesting title in a city has been recorded, but not
16 thereafter.
17 5. The right, title and interest of a purchaser or incumbrancer of a
18 property as to which a deed vesting title in a city, town, or village
19 has been recorded pursuant to a judgment obtained through this article
20 shall not be affected or impaired by a motion or action instituted more
21 than [ninety] one hundred twenty days after such deed vesting title in a
22 city, town, or village has been recorded.
23 § 5. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same
24 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the real property
25 actions and proceedings law relating to authorizing special proceedings
26 to convey title to abandoned commercial and industrial real property to
27 a city, town, or village, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.
28 9470 and A. 5337-A, takes effect; provided that the amendments to arti-
29 cle 19-B of the real property actions and proceedings law made by this
30 act shall not affect the expiration of such article and shall expire and
31 be deemed repealed therewith.
