NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A6272
SPONSOR: Lentol
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation
to a privately owned vacant property temporary public benefit use
exemption
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To provide an incentive to property
owners who are not able to develop their lots to instead transform them
into positive amenities for the public to enjoy
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: The Real Property Tax Law is amended
by adding a new section 481-a
 
JUSTIFICATION: It has been shown that community gardens stabilize
neighborhoods and add to the vitality to their immediate surroundings.
In addition to community gardens, urban farms have, in a short period of
time, proven to be a crucial link in providing fresh food of different
varieties to areas that may not have the kind of access to fresh food
that they should have. Pop-up parks are also a fairly new urban develop-
ment that could provide additional open space options. These and other
publicly beneficial uses would be welcome in any neighborhood and this
legislation could provide the necessary incentive to property owners.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: A.7823 of 2013-14
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
 
EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6272
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 20, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LENTOL -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Real Property Taxation
AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to a privately
owned vacant property temporary public benefit use exemption
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new
2 section 481-a to read as follows:
3 § 481-a. Privately owned vacant property temporary public benefit use
4 exemption. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, where
5 privately owned vacant property is temporarily used for the public bene-
6 fit in a city having a population of one million or more such property
7 may be exempt from taxation and ad valorem levies for as long as such
8 real property shall be limited to use for the public benefit for a mini-
9 mum of twenty hours a week in the months of November through March and
10 twenty-five hours a week in the months of April through October.
11 2. The term "public benefit", as used in this section shall include,
12 but not be limited to, open spaces, community gardens, urban farms and
13 pop-up parks.
14 3. No real property shall be entitled to receive an exemption pursuant
15 to this section if the owner or operator of such real property shall
16 receive or may be lawfully entitled to receive pecuniary profit from the
17 use of such real property.
18 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01244-01-5