New York court blocks commercial tax class for vacant residential lots outside Manhattan
Two appellate rulings require New York City to tax vacant residential lots in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island in class one, and let owners correct some past years.
A commercial overlay on the zoning map can no longer push vacant residential land in Brooklyn, Queens or Staten Island out of tax class one, the category New York uses for small homes and residentially zoned vacant land. On October 7, 2026, the Appellate Division, Second Department, held in 106 Astoria Blvd., LLC v. Niblack, No. 2024-10140, 2026 N.Y. Slip Op. 05781 (App. Div. 2d Dep't Oct. 7, 2026), and WA High Investor, LLC v. Niblack, No. 2024-02928, 2026 N.Y. Slip Op. 05799 (App. Div. 2d Dep't Oct. 7, 2026), that vacant land zoned residential outside Manhattan belongs in class one under N.Y. Real Prop. Tax Law § 1802(1)(d)(i) (the “RPTL”) “regardless of any commercial overlay.”
106 Astoria Blvd., LLC v. Niblack, 2026 N.Y. Slip Op. 05781 (App. Div. 2d Dep't Oct. 7, 2026); WA High Investor, LLC v. Niblack, 2026 N.Y. Slip Op. 05799 (App. Div. 2d Dep't Oct. 7, 2026); N.Y. Real Prop. Tax Law § 1802(1)(d)(i)