[Adopted 12-10-1990 by L.L. No. 7-1990 (Ch. 281, Art. V of the 1984 Code]
The right of the City to receive taxes, assessments and water rents and other water charges and the lien thereof may be sold by the City and, after such sales, shall be transferred in the manner provided by this Article VII. The right and lien so sold shall be called a "tax lien" and the instrument by which it is assigned shall be called "transfer of tax lien." Once in each year during the month of May or June, whenever any tax on lands or tenements or any assessments on lands or tenements for local improvements shall remain unpaid for the term of 12 months from the time the same shall have become liens on the real estate affected thereby, so as to be due and payable, and also whenever any water rents or other water charges in said City shall have been due and unpaid for the term of 12 months from the time the same shall have been due, the Comptroller may advertise the tax liens on said lands and tenements or any of them for sale, including in such advertisement the tax lien for all items up to a day named in the advertisement, and by such advertisement, the owner or owners of such lands and tenements respectively shall be required to pay the amount of such tax, assessment or water rents or other water charges, with said penalties thereon so remaining unpaid, together with the interest thereon at the rate of 1 1/2% for each one-month period, or any part thereof, to the time of payment, with the charges of such notice and advertisement, to said Comptroller. Notice shall be given by such advertisement that if default shall be made in such payment, the tax lien on such lands and tenements will be sold at public auction at a day and place therein to be specified for the lowest rate of interest, not exceeding 12% per annum, at which any person or persons shall offer to take the same in consideration of advancing said tax, assessment and water rents or other water charges and penalties as the case may be, the interest thereon as aforesaid to the time of sale, the charges of the above-mentioned notices and advertisement and all other costs and charges accrued thereon. Notwithstanding such notice, if the owner or owners shall refuse or neglect to pay such tax, assessment, water rents or other water charges and penalties, with the interest as aforesaid, and the charges attending such notices and advertisements, then it shall and may be lawful for the Comptroller to cause such tax lien on such lands and tenements to be sold at public auction, for the purpose and in the manner expressed in said advertisement, and such sale shall be made on the day and at the place for that purpose mentioned in said advertisement and shall be continued from time to time, if necessary, until all the tax liens on the lands and tenements so advertised shall be sold. No tax lien on houses or lots or improved or unimproved lands in the City of Peekskill shall be sold at public auction for the nonpayment of any tax, assessment or water rents or other charges which may be due thereon, unless notice of such sale shall have been published once in each week successively for three weeks in the official newspaper of the City, which advertisement shall contain, appended to said notice, a statement and description of the property, the tax lien on which is to be sold. Said statement and description, instead of being published in the official newspaper of the City, may, at the option of said Comptroller, be printed in a pamphlet, in which case copies of the pamphlet shall be deposited in the office of said Comptroller and shall be delivered to any person applying therefor. The notice provided for in this section to be given of the sale of tax liens on houses and lots and improved and unimproved lands shall also state that the statement of the taxes, assessments or water rents or other water charges and the property taxed, assessed or on which the water rents or other water charges are unpaid is published in the official newspaper of the City or in a pamphlet, as the case may be, and that copies of the pamphlet are deposited in the office of said Comptroller and will be delivered to any person applying for the same. No other notice or demand of the tax, assessment or water rent or other water charges shall be required to authorize the sale of tax liens on any lands and tenements as herein provided. The Comptroller may cancel any certificate or lien for unpaid taxes, assessments and water rents or other water charges held by the City of Peekskill or to which the City has acquired the right, and upon such cancellation, the lien of such tax, assessment or water rent or other water charges shall be the same as if no sale for such unpaid tax, assessment or water rent or other water charges had been made.
The Comptroller or his deputy shall conduct
the sales herein provided, and no auctioneer other than said Comptroller
or his deputy shall be employed to make such sale, and no auctioneer's
fees shall be charged thereon. The Comptroller shall require from
each purchaser of a tax lien at the time of such sale a deposit on
account in the amount of not less than 10% of the amount of the tax
lien purchased by him, and not later than 30 days from the date of
the sale, the balance shall be paid to the Comptroller at his office.
If no bid shall be received for a tax lien offered for sale, the Comptroller,
for and on behalf of the City of Peekskill, may bid in said tax lien,
and upon such bid, no deposit or payment in cash shall be required
from the City. When the City has bid in any tax lien, a transfer of
tax lien to the City shall be executed by said Comptroller in the
form and manner prescribed for other transfers of tax liens, and the
City shall have the same rights in, to and under such transfer of
tax lien as if the same had been bought by any other person. Transfer
of tax lien shall be made and delivered to the purchaser without charge
upon payment of the amounts therein shown to be due. In case any purchaser
shall not complete his purchase in accordance with the terms prescribed
as herein provided, then the amount deposited by him at the time of
the sale shall be forfeited to the City and the entire tax lien upon
the lands affected by such purchase shall be sold again. Such resale
shall be held at such time as the Comptroller may direct, and shall
be advertised in the official newspaper of the City in such manner
and for such time, not less than two weeks, as the Comptroller may
direct. All deposits forfeited as aforesaid shall be paid into the
general fund of the City of Peekskill.
A transfer of tax lien shall operate to transfer and assign the tax lien upon the lands or tenements described therein for the taxes, assessments and water rents and penalties and interest thereon and the charges of the notices and advertisements given pursuant to § 521-22 of this article and all other costs and charges so advertised for sale, free of all taxes, assessments and water rents which accrued before the day of the date mentioned in the advertisement of the sale as stated therein, and to create a lien upon the property affected thereby for the interest to which the purchaser may be entitled under his bid, but subject to the lien for and right of the City to collect and receive all taxes, assessments and water rents which accrued or which became a lien on and after the day of the date of the first advertisement of such sale as stated therein. A transfer of tax lien shall contain a transfer and assignment by the City of the tax lien sold to the purchaser, the date of the sale, the aggregate amount of the tax lien so transferred and the items of taxes, assessments, water rents, penalties and interest composing the tax lien, the annual rate of interest which the purchaser has bid and will be entitled to receive, the date when the amount of the tax lien will be due and a description of the real property affected by the tax lien and shall refer for certainty to the designation of said lot on the Official City Map, by its lot number and the number of the block and ward in which it is contained and such other identifying description as the Comptroller may deem proper to add. Each transfer of tax lien shall be subscribed by or on behalf of the Comptroller making the sale, or a successor in office of such Comptroller, and shall be acknowledged by the officer subscribing the same in the manner in which a deed is required to be acknowledged to be recorded in the county in which the real property affected is situated. The Comptroller may assign any transfer of tax lien made and delivered to the City upon payment of the amount thereof, with interest at the rate bid to the time of such assignment.
The Comptroller shall keep in his office a public
record of sales of tax liens, and a copy of each transfer of tax lien
issued by him. Assignments of transfer of tax lien duly acknowledged
may be filed and recorded in the office of the Comptroller. A transfer
of a tax lien and any assignment thereof, duly acknowledged, shall
be deemed conveyances under Article 8 of the Real Property Law of
the State of New York, and may be recorded in the office of the recording
officer of any county in which the real property which it affects
is situated. Transfers of tax lien and all assignments thereof shall
be recorded by recording officers in the same manner as mortgages
and assignments thereof, but without payment of tax under Article
11 of the Tax Law. The record in the office of the Comptroller of
sales of tax liens, of a transfer of tax lien and a copy of a transfer
of tax lien and of an assignment of a transfer of tax lien; a record
of a transfer of tax lien in the office of a recording officer and
of an assignment of tax lien, duly acknowledged, in the office of
a recording officer shall be evidence in any court in the state without
further proof. A transcript of any record enumerated in this section,
duly certified, shall be evidence in any court in the state with like
effect as the original instrument of record. Neither the tax lien
nor the rights transferred or created by a transfer of tax lien shall
be impaired by failure of a recording officer to record a transfer
of tax lien made by the City through the Comptroller. Unless a contrary
intent appears, a tax lien shall be presumed to be satisfied and discharged
whenever it shall appear from recorded instruments that the tax lien
has been transferred or assigned to the owner of such lands or tenements,
notwithstanding other intervening estates or liens.
The aggregate amount of each tax lien transferred
pursuant to this article shall be due two years from the date of the
sale. Until such aggregate amount is fully paid and discharged, the
holder of the transfer of tax lien shall be entitled to receive interest
on such aggregate amount from the day of sale at the rate which the
purchaser shall have bid. Interest shall be due and payable on the
first day of January next ensuring the date of sale and semiannually
thereafter. At the option of the holder of any transferred tax lien,
the aggregate amount thereof shall become due and payable in full
after default in the payment of interest for 30 days; or after default
for six months subsequent to delivery of the transfer of tax lien,
in the payment of any taxes, assessments or water rents which become
a lien on and after the day of the date mentioned in the advertisement
of the sale as stated therein. Any person having a legal or beneficial
interest in property affected by a transfer of tax lien (interested
person) may satisfy the same before maturity upon giving 30 days'
notice, in writing, to the holder thereof of the day on which payment
will be made and upon payment of the principal with interest at the
rate bid to a time three months after the date so fixed for payment,
except that where a tax lien is held by the City notice and additional
three months' interest are not required. If notice of intention to
make payment is given as herein provided, and such payment is not
made, then the whole amount of any tax lien concerning which such
notice shall have been given shall become due and payable at the option
of the holder thereof. Any such interested person may pay to the Comptroller
such principal with interest at the rate bid up to a day six months
after such payment. In case such payment is made to the Comptroller,
he shall receive the same for the benefit of the holder of the tax
lien thus discharged and shall give notice thereof to the purchaser
or the personal representative of assignee of the purchaser, by mail,
addressed to such address as may have been furnished to the Comptroller.
Upon receiving surrender of such transfer of tax lien, the Comptroller
shall pay the amount thus deposited to the person who, according to
the records in his office, appears to be entitled thereto, or to the
personal representative of such person, except when any party to an
action to foreclose a tax lien or any purchaser or person having an
interest in the premises may file a written notice with the Comptroller
that an action for that purpose is pending, the Commissioner shall
not be authorized to discharge said lien or receive any sum or sums
of money for that purpose unless the party desiring to satisfy the
same shall pay the amount of such lien, with interest to the date
of payment, and interest for 30 days additional, and all other taxes,
tax liens or charges against the premises, and also all costs, charges
and disbursements in the foreclosure action to date of payment, the
amount of which shall be determined as in an action for the foreclosure
of a mortgage; or shall file with said Commissioner the original transfer
of tax lien and a satisfaction thereof duly executed by the plaintiff
in the action.
A tax lien sold pursuant to the provisions of this article must be discharged upon the records of the City by the Comptroller when payment is made to him of the principal and interest as provided in § 521-26 hereof, and also when the transfer of tax lien is surrendered to him for cancellation and there is presented to him a certificate executed by the purchaser, or the personal representative or assignee of the purchaser, acknowledged so as to be entitled to be recorded in the county in which the real property affected by such tax lien is situated, certifying that the tax lien has been paid or has been otherwise satisfied and discharged. The transfer of tax lien thus surrendered and such certificate of discharge must be filed by the Comptroller and he must note upon the margin of the record of such sale, upon such transfer of tax lien and upon the copy of the transfer of tax lien kept in his office, a minute of such discharge and the date of filing thereof. If the transfer of tax lien shall have been lost, destroyed or mutilated, and if payment of the amount due thereon is made to the Comptroller, such amount shall not be paid to the alleged holder or owner of such transfer of tax lien, except on an order of the Supreme Court or Westchester County Court, after notice of application to the party or person paying such amount due and on due proof that such transfer of tax lien has been lost, destroyed or mutilated. The filing of a certified copy of such order with the Comptroller shall be taken in the place and stead of the transfer of tax lien so lost, destroyed or mutilated. The Comptroller shall, upon demand, issue his certificate showing the discharge of any tax lien which may have been duly discharged as provided in this section, and such certificate may be filed in any office where the transfer of tax lien is recorded, and any recording officer with whom such a certificate is filed shall record the same and upon the margin of the record of such transfer of tax lien in his office shall note a statement that the same has been discharged with a reference to the record of such certificate in his office.
Tax liens and transfers of tax liens shall be
exempt from taxation by the State of New York or any local subdivision
thereof, except from the taxes imposed by Article 10 of the Tax Law.
The real property affected by any tax lien shall not be exempt from
taxation by reason of this section.
If the amount of any tax lien which shall have
been transferred by a transfer of tax lien shall not be paid when
under its terms and provisions of this article such amount shall be
due, the holder of such tax lien may maintain an action in the Supreme
Court to foreclose such tax lien. In an action to foreclose a tax
lien, any person shall be a proper party of whom the plaintiff alleges
that such person has or may have or that the plaintiff has reason
to believe that such person has or may have an interest in or claim
upon the real property affected by the tax lien. Any action to foreclose
a tax lien shall be regulated by the provisions of Title 2 of Article
11 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York, and by all
other provisions of law, and rules of practice applicable to actions
to foreclose mortgages on real property. The people of the State of
New York may be made party to an action to foreclose a tax lien in
the same manner as a natural person. Where the people of the State
of New York or the City of Peekskill are made a party defendant, the
complaint shall set forth, in addition to the other matters required
to be set forth by law, detailed facts showing the particular nature
of the interest in or the lien on said real property of the people
of the State of New York or the City of Peekskill and detailed facts
showing the particular nature of the interest in or the lien on said
real property which the plaintiff has reason to believe that the people
of the State of New York or the City of Peekskill has or may have
in said real property and the reason for making the people of the
State of New York or the City of Peekskill a party defendant. Upon
failure to state such facts, the complaint shall be dismissed as to
the people of the State of New York or the City of Peekskill.
Whenever a cause of action, defense or counterclaim is for the foreclosure of a tax lien or is in any manner founded upon a tax lien or a transfer of tax lien, the production in evidence of an instrument executed by the Comptroller in the form prescribed in § 521-24 for a transfer of tax lien subscribed by or in behalf of the Comptroller shall be presumptive evidence that the lien purported to be transferred by such an instrument was a valid and enforceable lien, and that it has been duly assigned to the purchaser, and it shall not be necessary to plead or prove any act, proceeding, notice or action preceding the delivery of such transfer of tax lien nor to establish the validity of the tax lien transferred by such transfer of tax lien. If a party or person in interest in any such action or proceeding claims that a tax lien is irregular or invalid or that there is any defect therein or that a transfer of tax lien is irregular, invalid or defective, such invalidity, irregularity or defect must be specifically pleaded or set forth, and must be established affirmatively by the party or person pleading or setting forth the same.
Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this Article VII to the contrary, the Comptroller may advertise for sale and may sell in accordance with the provisions of this article any tax lien which became a lien prior to December 30, 1990, and which is held by the City for unpaid taxes. Such sale by the Commissioner may take place during the months of January or February 1991 upon compliance by the Commissioner with the notice and publication requirements as provided in this article, except that the prior notice and publication filed in the 1990 in rem proceeding shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of § 521-22 regarding notice and demand to be given to the property owner. The provisions of this § 521-31 shall apply only to the sale of tax liens held by the City of Peekskill for periods prior to December 31, 1990.
