New York Church Retreat Exempt From Taxes, Appeals Court Rules

A Queens, N.Y., Methodist church convinced a state appeals court Thursday that its retreat property in the Catskills is exempt from property taxes.

The town of Callicoon didn’t prove the use of the property violated its zoning laws, which would have made the parcel ineligible for a tax break, the 4-1 New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, ruled.

The church’s activities on the property satisfy the requisite religious use for the exemption without crossing the line into “regular church services” that would have required a special use permit, Justice Christine M. Clark wrote for the court.

The ...