Mid-Hudson Workshop for the Disabled, Inc. v. City of Poughkeepsie
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; November 30, 1997; New York; State Appellate Court
In a CPLR article 78 proceeding to review a determination denying a full property tax exemption under Real Property Tax Law (RPTL) 420-a, the City of Poughkeepsie and Deborah Regula, the city's assessor, appealed a judgment from the Supreme Court, Dutchess County, which had granted the petitioner's request for exemption. The judgment was reversed without costs, and the case was remitted for a hearing. The petitioner, a nonprofit corporation, was initially granted a partial property tax exemption for the 1996 tax year but claimed entitlement to a full exemption under RPTL 420-a. The Supreme Court ruled that the proceeding was not time-barred and properly acknowledged the petitioner's nonprofit status. However, the court erred by granting the petition without a hearing, as the petitioner failed to demonstrate that its property was primarily used for exempt purposes, a requirement not sufficiently established in the record. The matter necessitates resolution of factual questions at a hearing. Other contentions raised by the appellants were deemed without merit. The judges concurring in the decision were Copertino, J.P., Sullivan, Pizzuto, and Lerner, JJ.