A Newsletter of the Real Estate Law Committees
of the Association of the Bar of the City Of New York

Putting the "e" in NYC
By Eric Salant 1

New York City has taken several promising steps toward permitting property records to be filed, retrieved and updated via the internet.

Property Related Statements Available Online

The NYCProperty website, which can be found at http://nycserv.nyclink.org/nycproperty/nynav/jsp/logon.jsp, allows online access to bills and statements issued by the Department of Finance and the Department of Environmental Protection. Seven types of statements are currently available: annual real estate tax bill; replacement bill for annual real estate tax; property history; tentative assessment roll; final assessment roll; SCRIE report; and water bill. In order to access the information available on this site, except the assessment rolls, users must first enroll on the site, and create a list of registered parcels and water accounts, using building, borough-block-lot (BBL) information and DEP account numbers. Users should be sure that they have a complete list of all of the account numbers for buildings whose water service is provided under multiple accounts. The site requires registration, and a JavaScript enabled web browser (Netscape 4.0 or Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher). Water bill information is updated nightly, but tax information may take several days to post. This site represents a powerful tool for monitoring payments for properties you represent or may be involved in acquiring.

Online Property Owner Registration

The New York City Department of Finance now permits Owner's Registration information for individual properties to be filed online at http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/dof/html/dofreg.html. In order to complete the form, you will need all of the information required on the traditional Owner's Registration Card, except the signature. The site claims that registrations completed online should be processed within a week. You can also print out a blank Owner's Registration Card from this site, for filing by mail. Registrants can check on the progress of a new registration by accessing the property tax information available on the NYCProperty website listed above. As with the paper version of the registration card, water and sewer registration requires a separate application. That form cannot be filed online; however a printable version is available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/meter.html. Contact DEP at (718) 595-7000 regarding water and sewer account registration and forms.

1. Eric Salant is an associate at the firm of Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla, P.C., and a member of the Cooperative and Condominium Law Committee of the Association of the Bar.