J-51 Tax Benefits Properly Denied

Landlord applied for J-51 tax benefits based on installation of a new boiler/burner. The City of New York ruled against landlord. J-51 rules required completion of the work within 36 months from the date of issuance of a permit by a city agency. Landlord claimed that it finished work within 36 months of that start date. But the city ruled that landlord's start date was the date landlord began actual physical installation of the burner eight months earlier and the work took more than 36 months. Landlord appealed. The court and appeals court both ruled against landlord. Not only was it arguably illegal to do the work without the permit, but landlord's interpretation of the time limit would allow it to take as long as it wanted to complete the work by delaying its application for the permit. This would defeat the purpose of the J-51 program, which was to encourage swift upgrading of multiple dwellings.

275 Webster Tenants v. Wright: NYLJ, p. 26, col. 4 (4/7/97) (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Rosenberger, JP, Rubin, Williams, Andrias, JJ)