a. 1. The tax lien on property in the city shall not be sold pursuant to section 11-319 of this chapter unless notice of such sale as provided herein has been published twice, the first publication to be in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, not less than ninety days preceding the date of the sale, and the second publication to be in a publication designated by the commissioner of finance, not less than ten days preceding the date of the sale. Such publication shall include a description by block and lot or by such other identification as the commissioner of finance may deem appropriate, of the property upon which the tax lien exists that may be included in the sale, and a statement that a list of the tax liens that may be included in the sale is available for inspection in the office of the city register and the office of the county clerk of Richmond county. The commissioner of finance shall file such list in the office of the city register and the office of the county clerk of Richmond county not less than ninety days prior to the date of sale.
2. Not less than ninety days preceding the date of the sale, the commissioner of finance shall post online, to the extent such information is available, the borough, block and lot of any property on which a lien has been or will be noticed for sale in accordance with paragraph one of this subdivision and that, in one or more of the five fiscal years preceding the date of the sale, was in receipt of a real property tax exemption pursuant to section four hundred twenty-a, four hundred twenty-b, four hundred forty-six or four hundred sixty-two of the real property tax law and, in addition, shall post online, to the extent such information is available, the borough, block and lot of any vacant land classified as class one or class four pursuant to section eighteen hundred two of the real property tax law on which a lien has been or will be noticed for sale in accordance with paragraph one of this subdivision. Any failure to comply with this paragraph shall not affect the validity of any sale of tax liens pursuant to this chapter.
b. 1. A tax lien shall not be sold unless the commissioner of finance, or his or her designee, notifies the owner of record at the address of record and any other person who has registered pursuant to section 11-309 of this chapter, or pursuant to section 11-416 or 11-417 of this title, by first class mail, of the intention to sell the tax lien. If no such registrations have been filed then such commissioner, or his or her designee, shall notify the person whose name and address, if any, appears in the latest annual record of assessed valuations, by first class mail, of the intention to sell the tax lien. Such mailed notice shall include a description of the property by block and lot and such other identifying information as the commissioner of finance may deem appropriate, the amount of the tax lien, including all taxes, assessments, sewer rents, sewer surcharges, water rents, any other charges that are made a lien subject to the provisions of this chapter, as well as an estimate of the costs of any advertisements and notices given pursuant to this chapter, any other charges that are due and payable on the date specified in such publication, a surcharge pursuant to section 11-332 of this chapter if the tax lien is sold, and interest and penalties thereon, and shall be mailed to such owner and such other persons four times: not less than ninety, sixty, thirty and ten days prior to the date of sale. Such notice shall state that if default continues to be made in payment of the amounts due on such property, the tax lien on such property shall be sold as provided in section 11-319 of this chapter. If, notwithstanding such notice, the owner shall continue to refuse or neglect to pay the amounts due on such property, the commissioner of finance may sell the tax lien on such property as provided in section 11-319 of this chapter.
2. (i) Such notices shall also include, with respect to any property owner in class one or class two, as such classes of property are defined in subdivision one of section eighteen hundred two of the real property tax law, an exemption eligibility checklist. The exemption eligibility checklist shall also be posted on the website of the department no later than the first business day after March fifteenth of every year prior to the date of sale, and shall continue to be posted on such website until ten days prior to the date of sale. Within ten business days of receipt of a completed exemption eligibility checklist from such property owner, provided that such receipt occurs prior to the date of sale of any tax lien or tax liens on his or her property, the department of finance shall review such checklist to determine, based on the information provided by the property owner, whether such property owner could be eligible for any exemption, credit or other benefit that would entitle them to be excluded from a tax lien sale and, if the department determines that such property owner could be eligible for any such exemption, credit or other benefit, shall mail such property owner an application for the appropriate exemption, credit or other benefit. If, within twenty business days of the date the department mailed such application, the department has not received a completed application from such property owner, the department shall mail such property owner a second application, and shall telephone the property owner, if the property owner has included his or her telephone number on the exemption eligibility checklist.
(ii) Any such property owner who returns to the department of finance a completed exemption eligibility checklist prior to the date of sale of any tax lien or tax liens on his or her property and who subsequently submits a completed application for the appropriate exemption, credit or other benefit either prior to, on or up to ninety days after such sale, shall have his or her application reviewed by the department of finance. If, prior to the date of sale, the department of finance determines that such property owner is qualified for such exemption, credit or other benefit or will be qualified as of the date of sale, then the tax lien or tax liens on his or her property shall not be sold on such date. If, on or after the date of sale, the department of finance determines that such property owner is or was qualified for such exemption, credit or other benefit as of the date of sale, then any tax lien or tax liens on his or her property that were sold shall be deemed defective.
(iii) Not later than thirty days prior to such date of sale, the department of finance shall submit to the council a list, disaggregated by council district, of all properties for which property owners returned a completed eligibility checklist to the department of finance at least thirty-five days prior to the date of sale, but for which property owners have not yet submitted a completed application for the appropriate exemption, credit or other benefit.
(iv) Not later than thirty days after such date of sale, the department of finance shall submit to the council a list, disaggregated by council district, of all properties for which property owners returned a completed eligibility checklist to the department of finance prior to the date of sale, but for which property owners have not yet submitted a completed application for the appropriate exemption, credit or other benefit.
(v) Upon the written or verbal request of such property owner, the department of finance shall provide prompt assistance to such property owner in completing an application for the appropriate exemption, credit or other benefit.
2-a. If, prior to the date of sale, the department of finance confirms that a property is the subject of (i) a judicial proceeding or (ii) an investigation or a prosecution by any agency or office of the United States or any state or subdivision thereof with regard to the ownership of such property arising from the fraudulent transmittal of a deed relating to such property, the department shall remove such property from the sale, provided that the owner of such property has provided an affidavit to the department and any such other documentation required by the department to establish that such property is the subject of such a proceeding, investigation or prosecution. Any such removal shall relate only to the sale of a tax lien or tax liens for which the owner has received notice pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision b of this section. Failure by the department of finance to remove such property shall not affect the validity of any sale of tax liens pursuant to this chapter.
3. The notice provided not less than ninety days prior to the date of sale shall also include information relating to the lien sale process, including, but not limited to, actions homeowners can take if a lien is sold on such property; the type of debt that can be sold in a lien sale; a timeline of statutory notifications required pursuant to this section; a clear, concise explanation of the consequences of the sale of a tax lien; the telephone number and electronic mail address of the employee or employees designated pursuant to subdivision f of this section; a conspicuous statement that the owner of the property may enter into a payment plan for exclusion from the tax lien sale; and credits and property tax exemptions that may exclude certain class one real property from a tax lien sale. Such notice shall also include information on the following real property tax exemptions, credit or other benefit:
(i) the senior citizen homeowner exemption pursuant to section 11-245.3 of this title;
(ii) the exemption for persons with disabilities pursuant to section 11-245.4 of this title;
(iii) the exemption for veterans pursuant to section four hundred fifty-eight of the real property tax law, with respect to real property purchased with payments received as prisoner of war compensation from the United States government;
(iv) the exemption for veterans pursuant to paragraph (b) or (c) of subdivision two of section four hundred fifty-eight-a of the real property tax law;
(v) the state circuit breaker income tax credit pursuant to subsection (e) of section six hundred six of the tax law; and
(vi) the active duty military personnel benefit pursuant to department of finance memorandum 05-3, or any successor memorandum thereto. Upon such property owner's written request, or verbal request to 311 or any employee designated pursuant to subdivision f of this section, a Chinese, Korean, Russian or Spanish translation of such notice shall be provided promptly to such property owner.
4. Such notice shall also include, with respect to a property that was in receipt of a real property tax exemption pursuant to section four hundred twenty-a, four hundred twenty-b, four hundred forty-six, or four hundred sixty-two of the real property tax law in one or more of the three fiscal years preceding the date of the notice provided not less than ninety days prior to the date of sale, or with respect to a property in class four, as such class of property is defined in subdivision one of section eighteen hundred two of the real property tax law, information relating to the initial application and renewal process for such property tax exemptions, and other actions available to the owner of such property in the event such property is noticed for sale pursuant to this subdivision, including, if available, an adjustment or cancellation of back taxes. Upon request of the owner of such property, a translation of such notice in any of the top ten languages most commonly spoken within the city as determined by the department of city planning shall be provided to such owner.
5. The department of finance and the department of environmental protection shall, to the extent practicable, contact by telephone or electronic mail any person who (i) has registered their telephone number or electronic mail address with such departments and (ii) has received the ninety-day notice described in paragraph one of this subdivision. Any such contact shall be made within a time period reasonably proximate to the mailing of such notice, shall inform such person of the intention to sell a tax lien and shall provide such other information as the respective commissioner deems appropriate, which may include, but need not be limited to, the telephone numbers and electronic mail addresses of the employees designated pursuant to subdivision f of this section. The department of finance shall contact by electronic mail any person who has registered pursuant to subdivision a of section 11-245.8 of this title to receive information about the outreach sessions described in subdivision j of this section and provide such information within a time period reasonably proximate to the scheduled outreach session. Failure by the department of finance or the department of environmental protection to contact any such person by telephone or electronic mail shall not affect the validity of any sale of tax liens pursuant to this chapter.
c. Such notices shall advise the owner of such property of his or her continued obligation to pay the amounts due on such property. No other notices or demands shall be required to be made to the owner of such property to authorize the sale of a tax lien or tax liens on such property pursuant to section 11-319 of this chapter.
c-1. Where a tax lien on property in the city has been noticed for sale pursuant to subdivision b of this section and such lien, prior to the date of sale, has been paid or is otherwise determined by the commissioner not to be eligible to be sold, the commissioner shall promptly provide written notification to the owner of such property that such lien will not be or was not included in such sale and the reason therefor.
d. 1. The commissioner of finance or his or her designee shall, within ninety days after the delivery of the tax lien certificate, notify any person who was required to be notified of such sale pursuant to section 11-320(b) of this chapter, by first class mail, that such sale has occurred. Such notice shall state the date of the sale of the tax lien, the name and address of the purchaser of the tax lien, the amount of such lien, a description of the property by block and lot and such other identifying information as the commissioner of finance or his or her designee shall deem appropriate, and the terms and conditions of the tax lien certificate, including the right to satisfy the lien within the time periods specified in this chapter. Such notice shall also include the telephone number and electronic mail address of the employee or employees designated pursuant to subdivision f of this section.
2. Any written communication from the purchaser of the tax lien or liens to an owner of property, on which a tax lien has been sold pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall include the following information:
(i) an explanation of the roles of the purchaser of the tax lien and the employee or employees designated pursuant to subdivision f of this section;
(ii) the names and contact information, including the telephone number, electronic mail and mailing addresses of such persons; and
(iii) a statement informing such owner that he or she may be eligible to enter into a forbearance agreement with the purchaser of such tax lien.
3. The requirement to send such written communication shall be subject to federal, state and local debt collection laws.
4. Failure to provide notice pursuant to this subdivision shall not affect the validity of any sale of a tax lien or tax liens pursuant to this chapter.
e. The words "date of sale" when used in this section shall mean:
(1) for a negotiated sale, the date of signing of the tax lien purchase agreement, and
(2) for a competitive sale, the date designated by the commissioner of finance for the submission of bids.
f. The commissioner of finance shall designate an employee of the department to respond to inquiries from owners of property for which a tax lien has been sold or noticed for sale pursuant to subdivision a of this section and shall designate an employee of the department to respond to inquiries from owners sixty-five years of age or older of property for which a tax lien has been sold or noticed for sale pursuant to subdivision a of this section. The commissioner of environmental protection shall designate at least one employee of the department of environmental protection to respond to inquiries from owners of property for which a tax lien containing a water rents, sewer rents or sewer surcharges component has been sold or noticed for sale pursuant to subdivision a of this section. The telephone numbers and electronic mail addresses of employees designated pursuant to this subdivision shall be posted online and shall be included on all publications and notices required by subdivisions a and b of this section. Failure to include such numbers and addresses on all such publications and notices shall not affect the validity of any sale of tax liens pursuant to this chapter.
g. No later than one hundred twenty days after the tax lien sale, the commissioner of finance shall submit to the council a list of all properties, identified by block and lot, noticed for sale pursuant to subdivision b of this section. Such list shall also include a description of the disposition of such properties that shall include, but not be limited to, whether an owner entered into a payment plan with the city pursuant to section 11-322 or 11-322.1 of this chapter, whether an owner satisfied the tax lien or liens, whether ownership of the property was transferred, provided that such information is available to the city, or whether the property was distressed, as defined in subdivision four of section 11-401 of this title, or removed from the sale pursuant to the discretion of the commissioner of the department of housing preservation and development.
h. 1. On a quarterly basis, a purchaser of tax liens shall provide to the council a list of all properties on which tax liens have been sold where, subsequent to such sale, there has been a transfer of ownership of the property, provided that a purchaser of tax liens has knowledge of such transfers, for the following groups:
(i) all properties on which liens for emergency repair charges or alternative enforcement expenses and fees have been sold to such purchaser pursuant to subdivision a-4 of section 11-319 of this title; and
(ii) all class two residential property owned by a company organized pursuant to article XI of the state private housing finance law that is not a residential condominium or a residential cooperative on which any tax lien has been sold pursuant to subdivision a, a-2 or a-4 of section 11-319 of this title.
2. When available, a purchaser of tax liens shall include the names and contact information of the new owners of record of such properties.
i. On a quarterly basis, a purchaser of tax liens shall provide to the council a property status report. For each property, such report shall include:
(1) information about such property, including property tax class; property type; description of the tax lien or tax liens that have been sold to such purchaser on such property pursuant to this chapter, including the amount of the tax lien or tax liens, the costs of any advertisements and notices given pursuant to this chapter; the amount of the surcharge pursuant to section 11-332 of this chapter; and the amount of interest and penalties thereon; and
(2) the status of the tax lien or tax liens, including foreclosure information, if applicable; whether the property owner entered into an installment agreement; whether the property owner is current on such installment agreement; and whether the tax lien or tax liens on such property have been deemed defective, and, if so, the reason any such lien was deemed defective. Each property listed in the report shall be identified by block and lot.
j. At the request of a council member, the commissioner of finance, in consultation with the commissioner of housing preservation and development and the commissioner of environmental protection, may conduct outreach sessions in the district of such council member, provided, however, that, the commissioner of finance shall conduct such outreach sessions in the ten council districts with the greatest number of properties for which a notice of intention to sell a tax lien has been mailed ninety days prior to the date of sale pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision b of this section, and provided, further, however, that, such commissioner shall conduct additional outreach sessions in the five council districts with the greatest number of properties for which a notice of intention to sell a tax lien has been mailed ninety days prior to the date of sale pursuant to such paragraph. To the extent practicable, the commissioner of finance shall schedule the outreach sessions in the five council districts described in the preceding sentence such that one occurs prior to the mailing of the notice of intention to sell a tax lien that is required to be mailed thirty days prior to the date of sale pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision b of this section and one occurs subsequent to such mailing. The scope of such outreach sessions shall include, but need not be limited to, (i) actions property owners can take if a lien is sold on such property; (ii) the type of tax lien or tax liens that can be sold in a tax lien sale; (iii) installment agreement information, including informing attendees in such outreach sessions of their option to enter into an installment agreement for exclusion from the tax lien sale with no down payment, with options for income-based installment agreements or installment agreements with a term of up to ten years; (iv) credits and property tax exemptions that may exclude a property from a tax lien sale; (v) distribution of a customer survey to property owners who have received notice of the intention to sell a tax lien on their property, in order to determine the circumstances that led to the creation of the lien; and (vi) any other credit or residential real property tax exemption information, which, in the discretion of the commissioner, should be included in such outreach sessions. The commissioner shall make a good faith effort to have a financial counselor available at such outreach sessions. No later than ninety days after the tax lien sale, the commissioner of finance shall submit to the council a report on the number of outreach sessions performed in each council district during the ninety-day period preceding the tax lien sale. Such report shall include: (i) the number of installment agreements begun by property owners or, as defined in subdivision b of section 11-322 of this chapter, other eligible persons, acting on behalf of property owners at each outreach session; (ii) the number of property tax exemption applications begun at each outreach session; (iii) the total number of attendees at each outreach session; (iv) the number of outreach sessions at which a financial counselor was available; (v) the number of property owners, or other eligible persons acting on behalf of property owners, who consulted a financial counselor at each outreach session at which a financial counselor was available; and (vi) the results of such surveys. Such report and the results of each outreach session shall be disaggregated by council district.
k. The commissioner of finance shall post online the information reported to the council pursuant to subdivisions h and i of this section, provided that no information shall be posted online that specifically identifies any property or property owner, except by zip code and a randomly generated identifier.
(Am. L.L. 2015/014, 2/5/2015, retro. eff. 1/1/2015; Am. L.L. 2017/004, 1/27/2017, eff. 1/27/2017; Am. L.L. 2019/045, 2/24/2019, eff. 3/1/2019; Am. L.L. 2020/042, 3/29/2020, eff. 9/25/2020; Am. L.L. 2021/024, 2/28/2021, retro. eff. 1/1/2021)