Tax Challenge Status

January 2024:  The board again recently contacted the office of Robert Litt for an update on our property tax challenge. Nothing has progressed since our last update in November 2023.  However, the board will continue to follow up periodically as we wait for Mr. Litt and his associates to seek and achieve a conference date with the Town.  The board has faith in the abilities of Mr. Litt and his associates to negotiate a settlement when the Town issues a conference date for him to present our case.  When the conference is scheduled, all tax years we have challenged will be included in the appeal.  We will continue to post periodic updates when there is new information to share.

November 2023:  The board contacted the office of Robert Litt, our tax certiorari attorney, for an update.  We are currently still awaiting a hearing date from the Town of Islip attorney so that Mr. Litt can present our case to the Town.  We have been advised that obtaining a hearing date can take up to 12 months.  Our challenge for the 2023-24 tax year was filed in September 2023.

August 2023:  The board recently contacted our tax certiorari attorney for an update regarding any progress made with our challenge to the Town of Islip to obtain a reduction in our property taxes.  Below is the response requested by the board, following a telephone conversation between the board president and Mr. Litt.  We continue to remain cautiously optimistic that Mr. Litt will be successful in achieving some relief and have asked for another update after he meets with the Town Attorney this fall.

Hi Holly,

As discussed with Rob, we have filings for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 tax years pending against the Town and we will be attempting to settle said tax years in the Fall, when the Town Attorney is back in the office.

As for the 2022/2023 tax year, we did not have a viable claim for relief. The fair market values for the 2022/23 tax year for all units range from $567,000 to $580,000, and sales in the community were $600,000 and above. 

Luckily, it looks like we will have a viable claim for relief for the 2023/2024 tax year. The fair market value for the 2023/24 tax year for all units range from $645,000 to $660,000 due to the change in the ratio used to calculate fair market value. We are showing community sales just over $600,000 and will be utilizing same in our negotiations.

We are taking a nuanced procedural approach here by filing on behalf of the group in Suffolk Supreme Court, rather than on behalf of individual unit owners as a Small Claims proceeding. In any event, the Town will be consistent in its application of fair market values in the community in both instances.

Also as discussed, Rob is happy to attend a Board meeting in the future, either in person or virtually, to go over the tax certiorari process and the status of the case.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you or any of the home owners have any questions. 

Thank you.

Ilyse R. Dillon

Senior Paralegal

Litt Law Group LLC

66 North Village Ave.

Rockville Centre, NY 11570

516 341-7500 Phone

516 341-7502 Fax

idillon@littlawgroup.com