§ 420-b. Nonprofit organizations; permissive class. 1. (a) Real
property owned by a corporation or association which is organized
exclusively for bible, tract, benevolent, missionary, infirmary, public
playground, scientific, literary, bar association, medical society,
library, patriotic or historical purposes, for the development of good
sportsmanship for persons under the age of eighteen years through the
conduct of supervised athletic games, for the enforcement of laws
relating to children or animals, or for two or more such purposes, and
used exclusively for carrying out thereupon one or more of such purposes
either by the owning corporation or association, or by another such
corporation or association as hereinafter provided, shall be exempt from
taxation; provided, however, that such property shall be taxable by any
municipal corporation within which it is located if the governing board
of such municipal corporation, after public hearing, adopts a local law,
ordinance or resolution so providing. None of the following subdivisions
of this section providing that certain properties shall be exempt under
circumstances or conditions set forth in such subdivisions shall exempt
such property from taxation by a municipal corporation whose governing
board has adopted a local law, ordinance or resolution providing that
such property shall be taxable pursuant to this subdivision.

(b) No local law, ordinance or resolution adopted pursuant to this
subdivision shall provide for the taxation of any particular property or
owner. Any such local law, ordinance or resolution shall apply alike to
all property owned by any corporation or association organized for one
or more of the purposes specified in such local law, ordinance or
resolution, and used for carrying out thereupon one or more of such
purposes. Any purpose so specified in the local law, ordinance or
resolution must be one of the purposes listed in paragraph (a) of this
subdivision, but the purposes so specified in the local law, ordinance
or resolution need not include all the purposes listed in said
paragraph. Any local law, ordinance or resolution adopted pursuant to
this subdivision may be amended or repealed.

(c) Real property such as specified in paragraph (a) of this
subdivision shall not be exempt if any officer, member or employee of
the owning corporation or association shall receive any pecuniary profit
from the operations thereof, except reasonable compensation for services
in effecting one or more of such purposes, or as proper beneficiaries of
its strictly charitable purposes; or if the organization thereof for any
such avowed purposes be a guise or pretense for directly or indirectly
making any other pecuniary profit for such corporation or association or
for any of its members or employees; or if it be not in good faith
organized exclusively for one or more of such purposes.

2. If any portion of such real property is not so used exclusively to
carry out thereupon one or more of the purposes listed in subdivision
one of this section, but is (a) leased or (b) otherwise used for other
purposes, such portion shall be subject to taxation and the remaining
portion only shall be exempt; provided, however, that such real property
shall be fully exempt from taxation although it or a portion thereof is
used (a) for purposes which are exempt pursuant to this section or
sections four hundred twenty-a, four hundred twenty-two, four hundred
twenty-four, four hundred twenty-six, four hundred twenty-eight, four
hundred thirty or four hundred fifty of this article by another
corporation which owns real property exempt from taxation pursuant to
such sections or whose real property if it owned any would be exempt
from taxation pursuant to such sections, (b) for purposes which are
exempt pursuant to section four hundred six or section four hundred
eight of this chapter by a corporation which owns real property exempt
from taxation pursuant to such section, (c) for purposes which are
exempt pursuant to section four hundred sixteen of this chapter by an
organization which owns real property exempt from taxation pursuant to
such section or whose real property if it owned any would be exempt from
taxation pursuant to such section or (d) for purposes relating to civil
defense pursuant to the New York state defense emergency act, including
but not limited to activities in preparation for anticipated attack,
during attack, or following attack or false warning thereof, or in
connection with drill or test ordered or directed by civil defense
authorities; and provided further that such real property shall be
exempt from taxation only so long as it or a portion thereof, as the
case may be, is devoted to such exempt purposes and so long as any
moneys paid for such use do not exceed the amount of carrying,
maintenance and depreciation charges of the property or portion thereof,
as the case may be.

3. Such real property from which no revenue is derived shall be exempt
though not in actual use therefor by reason of the absence of suitable
buildings or improvements thereon if (a) the construction of such
buildings or improvements is in progress or is in good faith
contemplated by such corporation or association or (b) such real
property is held by such corporation or association upon condition that
the title thereto shall revert in case any building not intended and
suitable for one or more of such purposes shall be erected upon such
premises or some part thereof.

4. Such real property shall be so exempt although it is used as a
polling place upon days of registration and election.

5. Such real property outside a city owned by a free public library or
held in trust by an educational corporation for free library purposes
shall be so exempt from taxation although a portion thereof is leased or
otherwise used for purposes of income, if such income is necessary for
and is actually applied to the maintenance and support of such library.

6. Real property exempt pursuant to this section from taxation by all
municipal corporations within which it is located shall also be exempt
from special ad valorem levies and special assessments to the extent
provided in section four hundred ninety of this chapter. Real property
which is taxable by one or more, but not all, of the municipal
corporations within which it is located, pursuant to subdivision one of
this section shall also be exempt from such levies and assessments to
the same extent except that:

such real property taxable by a town shall be subject to any such
levies and assessments which are imposed to defray the costs of
improvements or services furnished by the town or by a special district
established pursuant to the town law;

such real property taxable by a county shall be subject to any such
levies and assessments which are imposed to defray the costs of
improvements or services furnished by the county or by a special
district established pursuant to the county law; and

such real property taxable by a city shall be subject to any such
levies and assessments which are imposed to defray the cost of
improvements or service furnished by the city.

7. An exemption may be granted pursuant to this section only upon
application made by the owner of the property on a form prescribed by
the commissioner. The application shall be filed with the assessor of
the appropriate county, city, town or village on or before the taxable
status date of such county, city, town or village.

8. (a) (i) For the purposes of this subdivision, "municipal
corporation" shall mean a county, city, town, village or school district
which, after public hearing, adopts a local law, ordinance or
resolution, providing that this subdivision shall be applicable to
nonprofit organizations within its jurisdiction. Such local law,
ordinance or resolution shall apply to property transfers occurring on
or after the effective date of such local law, ordinance or resolution.
A copy of such local law, ordinance or resolution shall be filed with
the commissioner.

(ii) Where a nonprofit organization that meets the requirements for an
exemption pursuant to this section, purchases property after the levy of
taxes, such nonprofit organization may file, if permitted by a local
law, ordinance or resolution of the municipal corporation in which the
nonprofit organization is located, an application for exemption with the
assessor no later than the time specified in such local law, ordinance
or resolution. The assessor shall make a determination of whether the
parcel would have qualified for exempt status on the tax roll on which
the taxes were levied, had title to the parcel been in the name of the
applicant on the taxable status date applicable to the tax roll. The
application shall be on a form prescribed by the commissioner. The
assessor, no later than thirty days after receipt of such application,
shall notify both the applicant and the board of assessment review, by
first class mail, of the exempt amount, if any, and the right of the
owner to a review of the exempt amount upon the filing of a written
complaint. Such complaint shall be on a form prescribed by the
commissioner and shall be filed with the board of assessment review
within twenty days of the mailing of such notice. If no complaint is
received, the board of assessment review shall so notify the assessor
and the exempt amount determined by the assessor shall be final. If the
applicant files a complaint, the board of assessment review shall
schedule a time and place for a hearing with respect thereto no later
than thirty days after the mailing of the notice by the assessor. The
board of assessment review shall meet and determine the exempt amount,
and shall immediately notify the assessor and the applicant, by first
class mail, of its determination. The amount of exemption determined
pursuant to this paragraph shall be subject to review as provided in
article seven of this chapter. Such a proceeding shall be commenced
within thirty days of the mailing of the notice of the board of
assessment review to the new owner as provided in this paragraph.

(iii) Upon receipt of a determination of the exempt amount as provided
in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, the assessor shall determine the
pro rata exemption to be credited toward such property by multiplying
the tax rate or tax rates for each municipal corporation which levied
taxes, or for which taxes were levied, on the appropriate tax roll used
for the fiscal year or years during which the transfer occurred times
the exempt amount, as determined in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph,
times the fraction of each fiscal year or years remaining subsequent to
the transfer of title. The assessor shall immediately transmit a
statement of the pro rata exemption credit due to each municipal
corporation which levied taxes or for which taxes were levied on the tax
roll used for the fiscal year or years during which the transfer
occurred and to the applicant.

(iv) Each municipal corporation which receives notice of pro rata
exemption credits pursuant to this subdivision shall include an
appropriation in its budget for the next fiscal year equal to the
aggregate amount of such credits to be applied in that fiscal year.
Where a parcel, the owner of which is entitled to a pro rata exemption
credit, is subject to taxation in said next fiscal year, the receiver or
collector shall apply the credit to reduce the amount of taxes owed for
the parcel in such fiscal year. Pro rata exemption credits in excess of
the amount of taxes, if any, owed for the parcel shall be paid by the
treasurer of a municipal corporation which levies such taxes for or on
behalf of the municipal corporation to all owners of property entitled
to such credits within thirty days of the expiration of the warrant to
collect taxes in said next fiscal year. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
where the municipal corporation has been reimbursed by another municipal
corporation for the tax credit to be paid to the owner pursuant to this
subdivision, such credit shall be paid to such municipal corporation
instead of such owner.

(b) (i) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, where a
nonprofit organization that meets the requirements for an exemption
pursuant to this section, purchases property after the taxable status
date but prior to the levy of taxes, such nonprofit organization may, if
permitted by a local law, ordinance or resolution of the municipal
corporation in which the nonprofit organization is located, file an
application for an exemption with the assessor within thirty days of the
transfer of title to such nonprofit organization. The assessor shall
make a determination within thirty days after receipt of such
application of whether the applicant would qualify for an exemption
pursuant to this section on the assessment roll if title had been in the
name of the applicant on the taxable status date applicable to such
assessment roll. The application shall be made on a form prescribed by
the commissioner.

(ii) If the assessor's determination is made prior to the filing of
the tentative assessment roll, the assessor shall enter the exempt
amount, if any, on the tentative assessment roll and, within ten days
after filing such roll, notify the applicant of the approval or denial
of such exemption, the exempt amount, if any, and the applicant's right
to review by the board of assessment review.

(iii) If the assessor's determination is made after the filing of the
tentative assessment roll, the assessor shall petition the board of
assessment review to correct the tentative or final assessment roll in
the manner provided in title three of article five of this chapter, with
respect to unlawful entries, in the case of wholly exempt parcels, and
with respect of clerical errors, in the case of partially exempt
parcels, if the assessor determines that an exemption should be granted
and, within ten days of petitioning the board of assessment review,
notify the applicant of the approval or denial of such exemption, the
amount of such exemption, if any, and the applicant's right to
administrative or judicial review of such determination pursuant to
article five or seven of this chapter, respectively.

(c) If, for any reason, a determination to exempt property from
taxation as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision is not entered
on the final assessment roll, the assessor shall petition the board of
assessment review to correct the final assessment roll.

(d) If, for any reason, the pro rata tax credit as provided in
paragraph (a) of this subdivision is not extended against the tax roll
immediately succeeding the fiscal year during which the transfer
occurred, the assessor shall immediately notify the municipal
corporation which levied the tax or for which the taxes were levied of
the amount of pro rata exemption credits for the year in which such
transfer occurred. Such municipal corporation shall proceed as provided
in subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision.

(e) If, for any reason, a determination to exempt property from
taxation as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision is not entered
on the tax roll for the year immediately succeeding the fiscal year
during which the transfer occurred, the assessor shall determine the pro
rata tax exemption credit for such tax roll by multiplying the tax rate
or tax rates for each municipal corporation which levied taxes or for
which taxes were levied times the exempt amount and shall immediately
notify such municipal corporation or corporations of the pro rata
exemption credits for such tax roll. Such municipal corporation shall
add such pro rata exemption credits for such property to any outstanding
pro rata exemption amounts and proceed as provided in subparagraph (iv)
of paragraph (a) of this subdivision.