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Riverniew Land Company, LLC SUPREME COURT OF THE ST ATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF DUTCHESS ----------------------------------------------------------------------)( In the Matter of the Application of RIVERVIEW LAND COMPANY, LLC., II Petitioner, - against - NOTICE OF PETITION The Assessor of the Town of Wappinger New York, the Board of Assessment Review of the Town of Wappinger, New York and the Town of Pawling, New York, Index No.: 'l4()t{ / '} '1) ~ Respondents, Date Filed: For Review of the Assessment of Certain Real Property in the Town of Wappinger, New York. ----------------------------------------------------------------------)( SIR S: 7/ 'Z- r It/I PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that upon the petition of RIVERVIEW LAND COMPANY, LLC., verified the 7th day of July, 2004, a copy of which is hereto annexed, an application will be made at a Special Term, Part IV of the Supreme Court to be held at the Dutchess County Courthouse, Poughkeepsie, New York, on the 24th day of September, 2004, at 9:30 o'clock in the forenoon of that day or as soon thereafter as counsel can be heard, for the review under Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York of the assessment for the year 2004 on certain real property of the petitioner situated in the Town of Wappinger, County of Dutchess, State of New York, appearing upon the assessment roll for the year 2004, being the real property particularly described in said petition, to the end that all proceedings, decisions and actions in the matter of the assessment of said real property may be reviewed and the said assessment corrected and modified on the merits by said Court, that the Court direct that the assessment be rolled back to the original assessment at the time of the purchase by petitioner, and for such other and further relief as to the Court may seem just and proper, together with legal fees, witness fees, costs and disbursements of this proceeding. RECE\VE[) JUL 2 8 200lt TOWN CLERK II 'I I. II I Demand is hereby made that an answer hereto be served upon petitioner five (5) days in \ advance of the return date hereof pursuant to Section 712 of the Real Property Tax Law. II I' II DATED: July 7,2004 Yours, etc., Isl John E. Watkins, Jr. Attorney for Petitioner 175 Main Street White Plains, New York 10601 (914) 428-1292 To: The Assessor of the Town of Wappinger The Board of Assessment Review of the Town of Wappinger The Town of Wappinger II II I SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF DUTCHESS --------------------------------------------------------------------- )( In the Matter of the Application of RIVERVIEW LAND COMPANY, LLC., Petitioner, - against - PETITION The Assessor of the Town of Wappinger, New York, the Board of Assessment Review of the Town of Wappinger, New York and the Town of Wappinger, New York Respondents, For Review of the Assessment of Certain Real Property in the Town of Wappinger, New York. -------------------------------------------------------------------------)( The petition of RIVERVIEW LAND COMPANY, LLC., by its attorney respectfully shows: 1. Your petitioner's address is c/o John E. Watkins, Jr., 175 Main Street, White Plains, New Yark, and petitioner is now, and was during all the times hereinafter mentioned, the owner of, and/or person responsible for the payment of taxes on, certain real property situated in the Town of Wappinger, New York, and further identified in Schedule A, Column 1, annexed hereto. 2. The assessor of said municipality was and now is duly authorized by law to assess real property in said municipality for state, county, town, school, and special district taxes including the property of your petitioner herein referred to. The Board of Assessment Review of said municipality was duly authorized by law to review the action of the said Assessor with respect to complaints filed with them concerning assessments appearing on the assessment roll of the said municipality for the year 2004 and to finally correct and revise any and all assessments on said roll concerning which complaint was made to the said Assessor. 3. Upon information and belief, on or about the 1 st day of January, 2004, the said Assessor proceeded to assess the property in said municipality not exempt by law from taxation I and made, prepared and claimed to have completed the assessment roll of all real property in said I municipality for the year 2004. On or before May 1 st, 2004, said Assessor deposited the roll in his office and thereupon caused notice of completion of the roll to be published in the official newspapers of said municipality and said notices contained a statement that the roll might be seen and examined by any person from the 1st day of May. 4. The description and assessment on said assessment roll of your petitioner's real property situated in said municipality as the same appeared thereon after the completion thereof as aforesaid is as set forth in Schedule A, Columns 1 and 2, annexed hereto. ! 5. During the period and at the place specified in said notice for a hearing on said I assessments, your petitioner made application to have said assessment corrected and reduced and your petitioner did at said time duly file with said Assessor and the Board of Assessment Review an application, under oath, specifying the respects in which the assessment complained of was incorrect and protesting against the same in accordance with the requirements of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York, and asking for a reduction of such assessment against said real property and said statement was received by, and filed with, said Assessor and Board of Assessment Review and the same was before them within the period appointed as aforesaid for the making of complaints. The said statements contained in said application thus \ submitted to the said Assessor and Board of Assessment Review were then, and are now true, but said Assessor and Board of Assessment Review refused and still refuse to correct said assessment to the full extent requested by petitioner. 6. Upon information and belief, on or about the 1 st day of July, 2004, there was published and posted as required by law, a notice that the assessment roll of said municipality for the year 2004 had been filed on or about the 1st day of July, 2004. That on or about the 1st day of July, 2004, the assessment roll for the said municipality for the year 2004 was finally completed, verified and certified and the same was filed with the Clerk of said municipality on or about the 1st day of July, 2004. 7. The assessment of your petitioner's property upon said assessment roll is as set forth in Schedule A, Column 2, annexed hereto. 8. Upon information and belief, real property in said municipality is generally placed and assessed on said assessment roll for the year 2004 at 40% of the full value thereof and the respondents, in arriving at and fixing the several assessments appearing on said roll, generally i equalized the same at such percentum of the full value as determined by them, and in this connection reference is hereby made to all the assessments appearing upon said roll. 9. Upon information and belief, the assessment of petitioner's said real property as finally made as aforesaid, being the assessment thereof as it appears on said roll as finally completed and filed as aforesaid, is illegal, unjust, excessive and erroneous for the following reasons: (a) Petitioner's said property is not assessed at a fair and proper rate of equalization compared with assessments generally on said roll. In fact, a proper and fair assessment of said property at the rate of 40% equalization at which property is generally assessed on such roll would be as set forth in Schedule A, Column 3, annexed hereto. (b) The assessment of petitioner's said property has been made at a higher proportionate valuation than the assessment of other taxable real property of the same major type on said roll. II II Ii II I (c) Said assessment is void and illegal because all properties in the assessing district are not assessed at the same percentage of full value as required by law. I (d) Said assessment is void and illegal because all classes of property in the assessing district are not assessed at the same percentage of true value as required by law. (e) Said assessment is void and illegal because the assessor has purported to re-assess only certain properties on the assessment roll thereby creating unequal assessments. 10. Your petitioner is aggrieved and injured by the said excessive and unequal assessment and is injured thereby in that if the same is permitted to remain, your petitioner will be required to pay a greater portion of the taxes required to be raised in said municipality than it would be required to pay if said assessment had been made correctly and properly. 11. Thirty (30) days have not elapsed since the final completion and filing of said assessment roll and publication of notice of completion as required by law. 12. Annexed to this petition and made a part hereof is a written authorization authorizing that this petition be signed and verified by an agent of petitioner designated therein. 13. No other application has been made to this or any other court for the relief asked for herein. WHEREFORE, your petitioner prays that said assessment roll be corrected and the assessment against your petitioner's aforesaid real property be reduced to a proper amount and properly equalized with the assessments of other real property on the same roll; that the Court take evidence or cause the same to be taken to enable your petitioner to show the illegality, inequality, overvaluation, and error of said assessment against petitioner's said real property; that the Court direct that the assessment be rolled back to the original assessment at the time of the purchase by petitioner; and that the petitioner have such other and further relief as may be just and proper, together with the legal fees, witness fees, costs and disbursements of this proceeding. DATED: July 7,2004 John E. Watkins, Jr., Attorney for Petitioner 175 Main Street White Plains, New York 10601 (914) 428-1292 3 II III STATE OF NEW YORK ) )ss.: COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER ) JOHN E. WATKINS, JR., being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is the duly authorized agent of the petitioner herein; that he has read the petition and knows the contents thereof; that the same is true of his own knowledge, except as to those matters therein stated to be alleged on information and belief, and as to those matters he believes the same to be true; that the grounds of his belief as to all matters not stated upon knowledge are books and records and investigations made. /s/ JOHN E. WATKINS, JR. Sworn to before me this 7th day of July, 2004. /s/ I II Ii II I II Column I 6056-01-174862-0000 SCHEDULE A Column 2 Column 3 $536,000 $240,000 5 03:53 :Jl4~:?fj4H'J4 AuthorizatiOn of Agent pmsnant to Sect.1Ons of the Real Property T ax Law The undtlfsigned heJ'~:by appoint~ John E. Watkins, Jr. or any attom~y employed by his tin)') as agent and aut:hQrj;~es him to sign, execute, ve:df;,' and fi~e any and all grievance apJ-l!,catiQllS, protests and Qt' complainl.s, tQ review the; real property tax asseSl$ffient on proper:y oWMd by the lmder5jgn~d and identif~ed below. He is further authon:r..ed to verify any petitions to commence a special proceeding pursuant to Artic::\e 7 of the Re.al Property Tax J..;3W with respect to said,)l'openy. He is also nuther. authorized t.o act as agent for t.he und~~r~lgncd \\"lth respe:;;r to all heat'jngs, conferences and fnedings with r~gard to this property 25 it appears on the ta,,,, roll including any prior proceedings presently pending and flny and all .SllbB.equers yeBl'S until !lucb ;~gency and authorizatiotJ are revoked in writing, ll.f,.rvl.", Land ~nr, LLC By; ~~ __.~_.~~_.~,.._~--_ Ste en Tulchin Propert~; ldentifleil As: f.l(l t htJ GIV"~ Tax. Designation: 6056- 01-174862.0000 Addn:ss: 157 River Road N. Munldplllity'. Tuwn of Wappinger DtJ(edi: May 1"1,2004