Welcome to the Bayport Meadow Estates HOA Community Website
Tax Certiorari Challenge by BME
The information below represents an action initiated by the HOA Board of Directors who enlisted the legal services of Litt Law Group to enter into a tax certiorari with the Town of Islip in an effort to seek relief on the property taxes we pay.
To view full documents below on the left, click on document, then click pop-out box with upward pointing arrow.
Additional information will be shared with the community on this website when we receive updates from our attorneys. See below for Status Updates.
Click on the link below to access information about the STAR Exemption in the Town of Islip
Tax Challenge Status
August 2025: The Condominium I and II boards have again filed a grievance with the Town of Islip for property tax relief. According to our tax attorney's office, the Town will not even entertain an attorney representing a community until three years of challenges are on file. We now have three years of challenges filed with the Town and have been told by our attorney that he is hoping to receive an appointment with the Town Attorney sometime in the fall of 2025 to present our case for a reduction in our property taxes.
However, all residents should keep in mind that our homes in Bayport Meadow Estates have nearly doubled in sales price; meaning that the chances of the Town reducing our taxes are very slim. We are hoping that Mr. Litt can present our case in such a way that the Town will recognize that we receive NO services from the Town, yet, as senior citizens, we are paying the full amount of high property taxes with no senior citizen reduction since we do not meet the Town's very low income threshold for this type of discount on our taxes.
While we may not have had any progress to date, the board is confident that when Mr. Litt is provided the opportunity to challenge our taxes with the Town Attorney, he will achieve success. Mr. Litt only receives payment from us if he is successful in achieving a reduction in our taxes.
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
Tax Challenge Status - Updated January 2023:
TAX CHALLENGE UPDATE 1:23.pdfTax letter Bayport REVISED 5-17-22.pdfBayport Meadow Estates I Engagement Letter.pdfBayport Meadow Estates II Engagement Letter.pdf