§ 11-412.5 Summary foreclosure action.
AC § 11-412.5
With the exception of sections 11-408, 11-415, 11-419, and 11-421, sections 11-404 through 11-427 of this chapter shall not apply to the process described in this section. a. Preparation of notification of summary foreclosure action. Upon receipt by the commissioner of finance of signed and notarized copies of the forms described in subdivision e of section 11-412.4 of this chapter, and upon the completion of reasonable efforts by the commissioner of finance to confirm that there are no mortgages, liens or encumbrances on the property that is the subject of the summary foreclosure action, the commissioner of finance shall prepare a notice of the summary foreclosure action. Such notice shall bear a caption containing the number of such summary foreclosure action, the borough or the section of a tax map or portion of a section of a tax map in which such property is located, the class of such property, and a statement of the rate at which interest will be computed for the liens it includes. Such notification shall include (i) a brief description of such property to be known as “description of property”, in a manner sufficient to identify the property, including block and lot number, street and street number, or in the absence of such information the parcel or tract identification number shown on a tax map or on a map filed in the county clerk’s or register’s office; and (ii) a statement of the amounts and dates of all unpaid tax liens that are subject to foreclosure as of the date of receipt by the commissioner of the forms described in subdivision d of section 11-412.4 of this chapter. b. Filing of notice of summary foreclosure action. Two duplicate originals of the notice of the summary foreclosure action, prepared pursuant to subdivision a of this section, verified by the commissioner of finance or a subordinate designated by the commissioner, shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the county in which the property is situated. Such filing shall constitute and have the same force and effect as the filing and recording in such office of a notice of pendency of action and as the filing in the supreme court in such county of a complaint by the city as to the property described in such notice, to enforce the payment of the delinquent taxes, assessments or other lawful charges that have accumulated and become liens against such property. c. Docketing of property by county clerk. Each county clerk with whom such a notice of the summary foreclosure action is filed shall, on the date of said filing, place and thereafter maintain one duplicate original copy thereof, as separately and permanently bound by the commissioner of finance, adjacent to and together with the block index of notices of pendency of action and each county clerk shall, on the date of said filing or as soon thereafter as with due diligence is practicable, docket the property described in said block index of notices of pendency of action, which shall constitute due filing, recording and indexing of the notice constituting such delinquent taxes in lieu of any other requirement under rule 6511 of the civil practice law and rules or otherwise. d. Filing by commissioner of finance. The commissioner of finance shall file a copy of each notice of the summary foreclosure action, certified as such copy by him or her or a subordinate designated by the commissioner, in the borough office of the department of finance in the borough in which the property listed therein is situated and in the office of the corporation counsel. The validity of any proceeding hereunder shall not be affected by any omission or error of the commissioner of finance in the designation of a street or street number or by any other similar omission or error. e. Public notice of summary foreclosure. Upon the filing of a notice of the summary foreclosure action in the office of the county clerk, the commissioner of finance forthwith shall cause a notice of foreclosure to be posted on the department’s website for 6 successive weeks and published at least once a week for 6 successive weeks in the City Record and, subject to section 91 of the judiciary law, in 1 newspaper, which may be a law journal, to be designated by the commissioner of finance, which is published in and is circulated throughout the county in which the affected property is located. If there are no newspapers published in such county, the commissioner of finance may designate a newspaper published in the city of New York which is circulated throughout the affected county.
1.Such notice of foreclosure shall clearly indicate that it is a notice of a summary foreclosure action of the tax liens on the property subject to the summary foreclosure action; the borough or the section of a tax map or portion of a section of a tax map in which the property subject to the summary foreclosure action is located, the class of such property, and a brief description of such property, sufficient to identify such property, including the block and lot number, street and street number, or in the absence of such information the parcel or tract identification number shown on a tax map or on a map filed in the county clerk’s or register’s office; where and when the notice of the summary foreclosure action was filed; the general nature of the information contained in such notice; that the filing of the notice of the summary foreclosure action constitutes commencement of a foreclosure action by the city in the supreme court for the particular county and a notice of pendency of action against the property subject to such summary foreclosure action; that such action is against the property only and no personal judgment will be entered; that such notice of the summary foreclosure action will be available for inspection at the borough office of the department of finance in the borough in which said property is located and on the department’s website until a specified date at least 10 weeks after the date of first publication; that until such date such property may be redeemed by any person, other than the owner of such property, claiming to have an interest in such property by paying all taxes and charges contained in such notice of the summary foreclosure action together with interest thereon; that during said period of redemption and for an additional period of 20 days after said last date for redemption any person, other than the owner of the property, having an interest in such property may file with the appropriate county clerk and serve upon the corporation counsel a verified answer setting forth in detail the full name of said answering party, the nature and amount of their interest or lien and any legal defense against foreclosure; and that in the absence of redemption or answer a judgment of foreclosure may be taken by default.
2.The commissioner of finance shall cause a copy of such notice of foreclosure to be posted in the office of the commissioner of finance, in the county courthouse of the county in which the property subject to the summary foreclosure action is situated and at 3 other conspicuous places in the borough in which the affected property is located. f. Redemption.
3.When the time to redeem in the summary foreclosure action has expired, any person, other than the owner of the property, claiming to have an interest in the property included in said action shall have the right to make a late redemption payment to the commissioner of finance. Such late redemption payment shall consist of all taxes and charges owing on said property and the lawful interest thereon to the date of payment. Such late redemption payment shall be made in cash, by certified check, or by another means authorized by rule of the department and shall be accepted by the commissioner of finance at any time after the last day to redeem up to the date on which the commissioner is advised by the corporation counsel that the preparation of the judgment of foreclosure in the summary foreclosure action has been commenced. Upon receipt of such late redemption payment, the commissioner of finance shall issue a certificate of discontinuance of the summary foreclosure action pursuant to the provisions of section 11-412.6. g. Stay where answer is interposed; installment agreements authorized. If a duly verified answer is served upon the corporation counsel by any interested party, other than the owner, not later than 20 days after the last date for redemption, such party shall have the right to a stay of the summary foreclosure action upon written demand therefor filed with or made a part of such answer. The corporation counsel shall have a right to a stay of such action upon written demand to the owner of the property that is the subject of the summary foreclosure action and to the answering party and filed with the court.
4.Where an answer of the type described in paragraph 3 of this subdivision is interposed and taxes are paid within the period set forth in such paragraph, the commissioner of finance shall issue a certificate of discontinuance as to the property on which such payment has been made pursuant to the provisions of section 11-412.6. When taxes are not paid within the period set forth in such paragraph 3, it shall be deemed that there was no equity over the city’s tax lien and the answer shall be deemed to be without merit. The city in that event may proceed with the summary foreclosure action without moving against the answer interposed by the interested party.
5.All answers interposed in a summary foreclosure action and all affidavits and other papers pertaining to any litigation involving such answers or to any proceeding brought pursuant to this section shall bear a caption containing the number of the summary foreclosure action, the borough section of a tax map or portion of a section of a tax map affected, and the section, block and lot numbers of the parcel or parcels in issue.
6.Any interested party, other than the owner, who has interposed an answer as to the summary foreclosure action, or any other party interested in such property, shall have the right, at any time prior to the final disposition of a motion to strike such answer, to pay all taxes, assessments and other legal charges and interest owing on such property. Where all delinquent taxes, assessments and other legal charges together with lawful interest thereon, where required, are paid, the commissioner of finance shall issue a certificate of discontinuance as to such property pursuant to the provisions of section 11-412.6. Such party may also pay such taxes, assessments and other legal charges and interest by an installment agreement. The terms of such agreement shall be consistent with the provisions of subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph. The request of an answering party for an installment agreement shall constitute a withdrawal of such party’s answer. An installment agreement requested by an interested party other than the answering party shall require the consent of said answering party which shall also constitute a withdrawal of such party’s answer. The stay provided for in subparagraph (c) of this paragraph shall be continued during the term of all installment agreements entered into pursuant to this paragraph. Where a default has occurred as to a property that was the subject of a summary foreclosure action which has been stayed pursuant to subparagraph (c) of this paragraph, the corporation counsel shall cause to be entered a supplemental judgment of foreclosure as to such property immediately on notification by the commissioner of finance of such default. Where such installment agreement is paid in full, the commissioner of finance shall discontinue the summary foreclosure action by issuing a certificate of discontinuance pursuant to the provisions of section 11-412.6.
(a)The first installment of an installment agreement entered into pursuant to this paragraph shall be paid upon the filing of the installment agreement with the commissioner and shall be in an amount equal to not less than fifteen percent of the total amount of the delinquent taxes, assessments or other legal charges and interest. The remaining installments shall be payable quarterly on the first day of July, October, January and April over a period that shall not exceed ten years.
(b)As a condition of entering into any agreement under this paragraph or under paragraph 4 of subdivision j of this section, the commissioner shall have received from the party requesting to pay such taxes, assessments and other legal charges and interest by an installment agreement an affidavit stating that each tenant located on the property has been notified by certified mail that an application for an installment agreement will be made and that a copy of a standard agreement form has been included with such notification. Any false statement in such affidavit shall not be grounds to cancel the agreement or affect its validity in any way.
(c)The corporation counsel shall have the right to a stay of the summary foreclosure action as to any property as to which, before the final judgment authorizing the award of possession of such property was entered, pursuant to subdivision j of this section, an agreement was duly made, executed and filed by any interested party, other than the owner, with the commissioner of finance for the payment of the delinquent taxes, assessments or other legal charges and interest thereon, in installments. h. Preference over other actions.
