Opinion
April 1, 1996
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (I. Aronin, J.).
Ordered that the order and judgment is affirmed, with costs.
The petitioner properly filed an application for the release of her property within four months of its acquisition by the City of New York (hereinafter the City) pursuant to the Administrative Code of the City of New York § 11-424 (f), and the petitioner's application was approved subject to the payment of all of the outstanding taxes and charges due on the property.
However, once the four-month period expired and the petitioner failed to pay the outstanding taxes and other charges due on the property within 30 days of the date of a letter requesting her to do so, the release of the property became discretionary rather than mandatory ( see, Administrative Code § 11-424 [f]; Matter of Swift v. Board of Estimate, 178 A.D.2d 534, 535; Matter of 195 S. 4th St. Realty Corp. v. City of New York, 160 A.D.2d 875, 876; Matter of Raffa v. Department of Gen. Servs., 153 A.D.2d 561, 562). "The petitioner * * * cannot `require the State to save [her] from [her] own failure to act reasonably in protecting [her] own interests'" ( Matter of Swift v. Board of Estimate, supra, at 535, citing Matter of Tax Foreclosure No. 35, 127 A.D.2d 220, 227, affd 71 N.Y.2d 863).
It is well established that the determination whether or not to grant an application for the discretionary release of property will not be disturbed absent a showing of fraud or illegality ( see, Matter of Upper E. Side Community Dev. Corp. v. City of N Y Div. of Real Prop., 176 A.D.2d 649, 650; Matter of 195 S. 4th St. Realty Corp. v. City of New York, supra, at 876). The petitioner's contention that the In Rem Foreclosure Release Board's denial of her application to release the property was arbitrary and capricious is unfounded since the petitioner failed to demonstrate that the In Rem Foreclosure Release Board acted fraudulently or illegally ( see, Matter of Swift v. Board of Estimate, supra; Matter of Diamond L. M. Ranch Enters. v. City of New York Dept. of Fin., 209 A.D.2d 193, 194; Matter of McDonuts Real Estate v. Board of Estimate, 146 A.D.2d 697, 698). Sullivan, J.P., Copertino, Pizzuto and Florio, JJ., concur.