Expand Local Nuisance Cleanup Powers

Section 1. Section 78-b of the general municipal law, as added by chapter 115 of the laws of 1980, is amended to read as follows:

§ 78-b. [Demolition] Abatement of public nuisances and demolition and removal of unsafe structures. (a) Summary abatement of nuisance properties and unsafe structures:

(1) The governing body of any city, town, or village may order any property owner to remediate any public nuisance condition, as known at common law or in equity jurisprudence, found on the owner's property. If the property owner fails to comply with the order, the governing body may, without obtaining a court order, remediate the public nuisance condition using local officials and employees or by retaining an independent contractor.

(2) The local government may place a lien on any property that is the subject of a municipal nuisance abatement pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision in the amount of the expenses the local government incurs in remediating the public nuisance condition. The lien levied pursuant to this paragraph is only valid if the local government serves a notice and order directing the property owner to remedy the nuisance condition within a reasonable timeframe prior to undertaking the summary abatement of the nuisance condition. The notice and order must be served in accordance with the civil practice law and rules. The requirement that the notice and order be served prior to the local government's abatement of the public nuisance condition may be dispensed with if the nuisance condition is imminently dangerous to the public's health and

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD09328-01-7

A. 6673 2

safety and must be remediated in a timeframe that does not permit notice to the property owner prior to remediation.

(3) The governing body of any city, town, or village may delegate the authority to order remediation of a public nuisance and to order the summary abatement of a public nuisance condition to a municipal department or officer.

(4) Nothing contained in this section is deemed to preempt local governments from abating public nuisances pursuant to common law jurisprudence or from adopting local laws providing for the abatement of public nuisances.

(b) Tax payer relief for neglected and abandoned properties.

(1) The governing body of any city, town, or village may commence a special proceeding in a court of competent [jursidiction] jurisdiction to collect the costs of [demolition] abating nuisance conditions or violations of the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code or local property maintenance codes or the costs of demolishing or removing unsafe structures, including reasonable and necessary legal expenses incidental to obtaining an order to abate or demolish, from the owner of any [building or structure that may now be or shall hereafter become dangerous or unsafe to the public] property with a nuisance condition or a Uniform Code or local property maintenance code violation or the owner of any unsafe building or structure. The provisions of article four of the civil practice law and rules shall govern any special proceeding commenced under this section.

(2) If the value of a property which is the subject of a proceeding pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision is less than the cost of abating the nuisance condition or code violation or demolishing the unsafe structure, then the city, village, or town may, when seeking to recover the cost of abatement or demolition, disregard the corporate form of any business corporation, limited liability company, or limited liability partnership which owns the property, either in whole or in part, if (i) the assets of the business corporation, limited liability company, or limited liability partnership are insufficient to cover the cost of abatement or demolition and (ii) the business corporation, limited liability company, or limited liability partnership either (A) made a profit on the property at any time during the five years prior to the abatement or demolition or (B) used financial losses on the property to write-off capital gains or income from other properties that the business corporation, limited liability company, or limited liability partnership owns during the five years prior to the abatement or demolition.

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.