What’s at stake?

Scenic Hudson supports the inclusion of language in the final NYS budget that addresses the following:

Mansion Tax Exemption for Nonprofit Organizations

Scenic Hudson applauds the Governor for her proposal to exempt not-for-profit organizations from the 1% real estate transfer tax on residential real property over $1 million (commonly referred to as the Mansion Tax.) Scenic Hudson often conserves land within high-property-value areas. This transfer tax exemption would allow us, and our partner land trusts, to conserve important land in the Hudson Valley region and across the state, and to fulfill our missions to improve and protect our communities. We encourage the Legislature to include this exemption in the one-house bills.

Modernizing the State Land Acquisition Process

Scenic Hudson was encouraged when the Governor’s State of the State message included a section called “Make Open Space Accessible for All”:

“Recognizing the need for streamlined processes, the Governor will also champion several key initiatives. These will include modernizing the use of title insurance to expedite land acquisitions, …and reducing the financial hurdles faced by non-profit organizations in their land conservation efforts. These changes and investments will empower the state to more effectively protect our natural heritage for future generations.”

We respectfully request the Senate and Assembly work with the Governor to take this important step forward in modernizing the state land acquisition process as part of this year’s budget, and urge priority attention to promoting the use of title insurance by the NYS Office of the Attorney General and the creation of a land acquisition grant program for the distribution of a portion of the Bond Act land protection proceeds.

Read a recent Times Union article on this issue here.

Real Property Tax Law Section 532

Both Sojourner Truth State Park and Franny Reese State Park are owned by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. Since the formation of these parks, the lands that they encompass have been removed from their respective communities’ tax rolls. For the Town of Lloyd specifically, this host community has not received the tax benefits from the Franny Reese State Park property for almost 15 years. Most other New York State Parks owned by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission fall under Real Property Tax Law (RPTL) 532, which requires specific lands owned by and/or used by NYS to pay local property taxes. Throughout history, there have been many amendments to RPTL 532 to include the lands owned by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, so that the host communities receive property tax payments. Scenic Hudson supports amendments to RPTL 532 as part of the budget process that would add the current and future state park lands that are in the City of Kingston and the Town of Ulster (Sojourner Truth State Park) and the Town of Lloyd (Franny Reese State Park).