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365Gay.com
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LGBT
Center Wins
Tax Fight
With City
On the
Web, February 22, 2008
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Kingston, New York -- The
Hudson Valley LGBT Community Center has settled its lawsuit against the City of
Kingston over the Center's property tax exemption.
"We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the City of Kingston, and
that the City now recognizes the important work that the Center does in the
community. This agreement will help the Center's work to continue and to
grow," said Thomas W. Ude, Jr., Senior Staff Attorney at Lambda Legal which
represented the Center.
The facility, which is run entirely by volunteers, was formed in 2005 to provide
social services, counseling, education and cultural programs for the region.
Although what it does squarely entitles it to non-profit property tax exemption
under the New York Real Property Tax Law, in March 2007 Kingston's assessor
denied its application, claiming that the Center's activities do not warrant
exemption.
The Center appealed to the Board of Assessment Review, but the Board denied that
appeal. Left with a bruising tax bill, the Center filed suit in court to
compel the City to recognize that its activities entitled its property to the
exemption.
The City and the Center then reached an agreement that the Center's activities
do, in fact, meet the legal requirements for a tax exemption, and the parties
stipulated to a court order saying so. With the entry of that court order
today, the dispute is resolved.
"The Hudson Valley LGBTQ Center deserves fair and equal treatment under the
law," said Ginny Apuzzo, President of the Board of Directors for the Center.
Apuzzo worked in the Clinton White House in the 1990s,
"We are engaged in building an important community advocacy and education
institution, not just a mere social club, and we are pleased the City of
Kingston now recognizes that."
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