§ 1125. Personal notice of commencement of foreclosure proceeding. 1.
(a) Parties entitled to notice. The enforcing officer shall on or before
the date of the first publication of the notice above set forth cause a
notice to be mailed to (i) each owner and any other person whose right,
title, or interest was a matter of public record as of the date the list
of delinquent taxes was filed, which right, title or interest will be
affected by the termination of the redemption period, and whose name and
address are reasonably ascertainable from the public record, including
the records in the offices of the surrogate of the county, or from
material submitted to the enforcing officer pursuant to paragraph (d) of
this subdivision, (ii) any other person who has filed a declaration of
interest pursuant to section eleven hundred twenty-six of this title
which has not expired, and (iii) the enforcing officer of any other tax
district having a right to enforce the payment of a tax imposed upon any
of the parcels described upon such petition.

(b) Notification method. (i) Such notice shall be sent to each such
party both by certified mail and ordinary first class mail, subject to
the provisions of subparagraph (iv) of this paragraph. The notice shall
be deemed received unless both the certified mailing and the ordinary
first class mailing are returned by the United States postal service
within forty-five days after being mailed. In that event, the enforcing
officer or his or her agent shall attempt to obtain an alternative
mailing address from the United States postal service. When notice is
required to be sent to the commissioner of taxation and finance, an
alternative notice may be used by the enforcing officer, in accordance
with instructions prescribed by the commissioner of taxation and
finance.

(ii) If an alternative mailing address is found, the enforcing officer
shall cause the notice to be mailed to such owner at such address both
by certified mail and by ordinary first class mail. Notwithstanding any
provision of law to the contrary, such owner may redeem the parcel in
question or serve a duly verified answer to the petition of foreclosure
until either the thirtieth day after such mailing, or the date specified
by the notice of foreclosure as the last day for redemption, whichever
is later.

(iii) If no alternative mailing address can be found, then in the case
of an owner, the enforcing officer shall cause a copy of such notice to
be posted as provided herein on the property to which the delinquent tax
lien relates; in the case of a non-owner, the enforcing officer shall
cause a copy of such notice to be posted in his or her office and in the
office of the clerk of the court in which the petition of foreclosure
has been filed. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
the party to whom such notice is directed may redeem the parcel in
question or serve a duly verified answer to the petition of foreclosure
until either the thirtieth day after such posting or delivery, or the
date specified by the notice of foreclosure as the last day for
redemption, whichever is later.

(iv) Where an owner is listed as "unknown" on the tax roll and the
name of such owner cannot be found in the public record, the notice
shall be mailed to the property address by ordinary first class mail
addressed to "occupant" and a copy thereof shall be posted on the
property to which the tax lien relates.

(c) Posting of notice. When a notice is required to be posted on the
property to which the delinquent tax lien relates pursuant to this
section, the posting shall be deemed sufficient if it is either (i)
affixed to a door of a residential or commercial structure on the
premises, or (ii) attached to a vertical object, such as a tree, post or
stake, and plainly visible from the road. Provided, that if, when
visiting the premises for this purpose, the enforcing officer or his or
her agent should find thereon an occupant of suitable age and
discretion, he or she may deliver such notice to such occupant in
addition to or in lieu of posting it. The process of so posting or
delivering such notice shall warrant the imposition of an extra charge
of one hundred dollars against the parcel, in addition to any other
charges authorized by section eleven hundred twenty-four of this title
and without regard to any limitations set forth therein.

(d) Changes of address. It shall be the responsibility of any party
entitled to notice pursuant to this section to notify the enforcing
officer when his, her or its address changes. Such notification need not
be in any particular form as long as it is in writing, affirmatively
states that such party's address has changed or uses language to that
effect, and sets forth the new address. It shall not suffice to submit
to the enforcing officer an item that merely displays the new address,
such as a check upon which the new address has been imprinted, or a
letter or envelope which uses the new address as the return address,
unless such submission includes language clearly indicating that such
address is that party's new address. In the event that a foreclosure
proceeding is challenged on grounds of lack of notice, and the party
raising this issue failed to provide a current address to the enforcing
officer pursuant to this paragraph, the court having jurisdiction may
take such failure into account when evaluating whether reasonable notice
was given.

(e) Public record. For purposes of this section, the public record
shall be deemed to consist of the books maintained by the recording
officer of the county in which the property is located pursuant to
section three hundred fifteen of the real property law, the books kept
by the clerk of the surrogate's court of the county in which the
property is located pursuant to section twenty-five hundred two of the
surrogate's court procedure act, the tax rolls in the possession of the
enforcing officer dated from the applicable lien date forward.

2. The notice to be so mailed shall consist of (a) a copy of the
petition and, if not substantially the same as the petition, the public
notice of foreclosure, provided that such copies need not include the
descriptions or the names of the owners of any parcels in which the
addressee does not have an interest, and (b) a statement substantially
as follows:

To the party to whom the enclosed notice is addressed:

You are presumed to own or have a legal interest in one or more of the
parcels of real property described on the enclosed petition of
foreclosure.

A proceeding to foreclose on such property based upon the failure to
pay real property taxes has been commenced. Foreclosure will result in
the loss of ownership of such property and all rights in that property.

To avoid loss of ownership or of any other rights in the property, all
unpaid taxes and other legal charges must be paid prior to.............
(insert the last date to redeem) or you must interpose a duly verified
answer in the proceeding. You may make payment to................
(insert name, title and address of the official to whom such payments
are to be made) in the amount of all such unpaid taxes and legal charges
prior to that date. You may wish to contact an attorney to protect your
rights.

After............. (insert the last date to redeem), a court will
transfer the title of the property to the.............. (Name of the tax
district) by means of a court judgment.

Should you have any questions regarding this notice, please
call............ (insert the name of the enforcing officer)
at................ (insert telephone number).
Dated,................. (Insert date).

2-a. In the case of residential property as defined by section eleven
hundred eleven of this article, such notice shall also either include or
be accompanied by the homeowner warning notice described by section
eleven hundred forty-four of this article.

3. (a) An affidavit of mailing of such notice shall be executed.

(b) The failure of an intended recipient to receive any such notice
shall not invalidate any tax or prevent the enforcement of the same as
provided by law.

(c) The service of the notice required by this section shall be deemed
to be equivalent to the service of a notice of petition pursuant to
section four hundred three of the civil practice law and rules.

4. (a) Nothing contained herein shall be construed to preclude the
enforcing officer from issuing, at his or her discretion, a duplicate of
any such notice, clearly labeled as such, through means other than
ordinary first class mail, including but not limited to personal
service, registered or certified mail, facsimile transmission, or
electronic mail.

(b) Nothing contained herein shall be construed to preclude the
enforcing officer from issuing, at his or her discretion, one or more
informal notices to an owner or other party prior to issuing the notice
required by this section.

(c) The failure of the enforcing officer to mail any such
discretionary notice, or the failure of an intended recipient to receive
such a notice, shall not invalidate any tax or prevent the enforcement
of the same as provided by law.

5. Any notice mailed by ordinary first class mail pursuant to
subdivision one of this section may also be mailed in duplicate by
certified mail at the option of the enforcing officer.