http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ny-court-of-appeals/1181065.html
New York City gives religious buildings water exemptions if the building is entirely used for religious purposes and if there is a caretaker's apartment, there can be only one. That Assembly Hall had 2. The Water Dept denied their application for exemption on that basis. The Assembly Hall appealed the decision to the New York Highest court and they lost and were charged costs of the appeal.
Department of Environmental Protection Department of Environmental Protection
On June 15, 2005, the Executive Director denied the Church's appeal and confirmed DEP's determination. He opined that in order for an organization to qualify for an exemption,
“the premises must be used exclusively for a qualifying purpose, or if the premises is not used exclusively for a qualifying purpose, the non-qualifying portion must be separately metered. For this premises, neither condition is met as the meter records consumption on both the part that may qualify (the assembly hall) and the non-qualifying portion (the additional caretaker apartment and two guest rooms). A single room or a small apartment for a caretaker is considered incidental; accommodations for an additional caretaker and two additional guests are not a qualifying exempt use.”
He further advised the Church that it could pursue “the option of separately metering the water service to the non-exempt portion,” in which event “an exemption [might] then be applied for on the qualifying portion of the premises, and if granted, [would] be applied on a prospective basis only.”
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