ALTHOUGH RPTL 421-A DOES NOT EXPLICITLY ALLOW JUDICIAL REVIEW OF THE COMPTROLLER’S TAX RULINGS, THE CASE LAW SUPPORTS THE AVAILABILITY OF ARTICLE 78 REVIEW; THEREFORE THE STATUTE IS NOT UNCONSTITUTIONAL (THIRD DEPT). ​

The Third Department, reversing Supreme Court, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Clark, determined RPTL 421-a (16) (c) (x) does not foreclose judicial review of the Comptroller’s rulings concerning certain tax benefits available to property developers who provide affordable housing and pay construction workers at the statutory rate. Although the statute does not explicitly allow judicial review, the case law supports the conclusion that Article 78 review is available:​

… Supreme Court has broad authority to provide relief from an administrative determination in a CPLR article 78 proceeding, both during the pendency of the proceeding and following the completion of judicial review … . During the pendency of such a proceeding, the court may “stay . . . the enforcement of [the] determination under review” (CPLR 7805 …). Correspondingly, once judicial review is complete, the reviewing court is authorized to “annul or confirm . . . or modify” the determination “in whole or part” and may “direct. . . specified action by the respondent” (CPLR 7806). The court’s authority under CPLR 7806 to direct specified action by the respondent agency encompasses “any . . . directions needed to secure to the petitioner the [a]rticle 78 relief ordered” and a court’s judgment embodying those directions “is enforceable by contempt proceedings” … . In other words, if a reviewing court found the Comptroller’s final determination under RPTL 421-a (16) (c) (x) to have been made in violation of lawful procedure, affected by an error of law, arbitrary and capricious or lacking in substantial evidence (see CPLR 7803 [3], [4]), it would have broad remedial power under CPLR 7806 to annul the Comptroller’s determination, which would, in effect, render the underlying administrative judgment unenforceable, and could also direct the Comptroller to take action to secure the vacatur of the administrative judgment. Matter of Bldg 44 Devs. LLC v State of New York, 2026 NY Slip Op 02898, Third Dept 5-7-26

Practice Point: Even where a statute does not explicitly allow judicial review, the case law may support Article 78 review, rendering the statute constitutional.