A New York trial court has denied an exemption for 2006-08 property taxes for 130 acres of land in Pomona, New York owned by Congregation Rabbinical College of Tartikov, according to a report last week by the Lower Hudson Journal News. The court ruled that the Rabbinical College's profit from leasing the land to a summer camp makes the undeveloped property unconnected to the Rabbinical College's other activities. The Village of Pomona has already granted an exemption for 2009 taxes, but will consider revoking it for future years. A discrimination suit against Pomona is pending in federal court over the Villae of Pomona's refusal to permit the Rabbinical College to build facilities on 30 acres of its land. (See prior posting.)
UPDATE: The text of the court's decision in Congregation Rabbinical Coll. of Tartikov, Inc. v Town of Ramapo, (NY Sup. Ct., April 15, 2009), is now available online.