Opinion
Argued April 25, 2000.
June 5, 2000.
In a purported proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78, inter alia, for a determination that the 1999 increase in the assessment of certain real property was invalid and unconstitutional, the petitioner appeals from an order and judgment (one paper) of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Adams, J.), entered May 20, 1999, which granted the respondents' motion to dismiss the petition and dismissed the petition.
Cronin, Cronin and Harris, P.C., Mineola, N.Y. (Neil Schaier of counsel), for appellant.
Schapiro Reich, Lindenhurst, N.Y. (Perry S. Reich of counsel), for respondents.
Before: GUY JAMES MANGANO, P.J., WILLIAM C. THOMPSON, GABRIEL M. KRAUSMAN, SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the order and judgment is affirmed, with costs.
In Matter of Board of Mgrs. of Greens of N. Hills Condominium v. Board of Assessors of County of Nassau ( 202 A.D.2d 417, 419), this court stated:
"Ordinarily, challenges to assessments on the grounds that they are illegal, irregular, excessive, or unequal are to be made in a certiorari proceeding under RPTL article 7 * * * However, where the challenge is based upon the method employed in the assessment of several properties rather than the overvaluation or undervaluation of specific properties, a taxpayer may forgo the statutory certiorari procedure and mount a collateral attack on the taxing authority's action through either a declaratory judgment action or a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78.
* * *
"In reviewing a taxpayer's claim to determine whether this exception to the statutory procedure based upon the taxing authority's methodology has been demonstrated, `"[m]ere allegations, unsupported by evidentiary matter, that the attack is on the methods employed rather than individual evaluations, are not enough to relieve plaintiffs of the obligation to pursue their relief via the provisions of Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law"'" (citations omitted).
Contrary to the petitioner's contentions, it did not offer sufficient proof to demonstrate that its challenge to the assessment of the subject real property was based upon the reassessment methodology of the respondent Incorporated Village of Long Beach. Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly granted the respondents' motion to dismiss the petition and held that the petitioner must pursue its remedy under RPTL article 7.
In light of our determination, we need not address the parties' remaining contentions.