NY Top Court Quizzes Taxpayer on Skipping Administrative Process

All seven members of the New York Court of Appeals on Thursday battered an attorney for an apartment building owner about why a fast-track option for challenging a property tax exemption denial was more appropriate than the standard administrative process.

Bi-Coastal Properties LLC wants the state’s highest court to find its 74-family New York City apartment building was entitled to exemption benefits designed to encourage owners to make improvements to their rent-stabilized properties without facing increased assessments.

The case concerns the interaction of a city administrative code provision allowing the finance commissioner to correct “clerical errors” and state laws setting ...