Section 11-1512. Proceedings to recover tax

a. Whenever any person shall
  fail to pay any tax or penalty or interest imposed by  this  chapter  as
  herein  provided, the corporation counsel shall, upon the request of the
  commissioner of finance, bring or cause  to  be  brought  an  action  to
  enforce  payment  of  the same against the person liable for the same on
  behalf of the city of New York in any court of the state of New York  or
  of   any  other  state  or  of  the  United  States.  If,  however,  the
  commissioner of finance  in  his  or  her  discretion  believes  that  a
  taxpayer  subject  to  the  provisions of this chapter is about to cease
  business, leave the state or remove or dissipate the assets out of which
  tax or penalties might be satisfied and that any  such  tax  or  penalty
  will  not  be  paid  when  due, the commissioner may declare such tax or
  penalty to be immediately due  and  payable  and  may  issue  a  warrant
  immediately.
    b.  As  an additional or alternate remedy, the commissioner of finance
  may issue a warrant, directed to the city sheriff, commanding  the  city
  sheriff  to  levy  upon  and sell the real and personal property of such
  person which may be found within the city, for the payment of the amount
  thereof, with any penalties and interest, and the cost of executing  the
  warrant,  and  to return such warrant to the commissioner of finance and
  to pay to the commissioner the money collected by virtue thereof  within
  sixty  days  after  the receipt of such warrant. The city sheriff shall,
  within five days after the receipt of the warrant, file with the  county
  clerk  a  copy  thereof,  and  thereupon  such  clerk shall enter in the
  judgment docket the name of the person mentioned in the warrant and  the
  amount  of  the  tax,  penalties  and  interest for which the warrant is
  issued and the date when such copy is filed.  Thereupon  the  amount  of
  such  warrant  so  docketed  shall  become  a lien upon the title to and
  interest in real and personal property of the person  against  whom  the
  warrant  is issued. The city sheriff shall then proceed upon the warrant
  in the same manner and with like effect  as  that  provided  by  law  in
  respect  to executions issued against property upon judgments of a court
  of record, and for services in executing the warrant  the  city  sheriff
  shall be entitled to the same fees which the city sheriff may collect in
  the  same  manner.  In  the  discretion of the commissioner of finance a
  warrant of like terms, force and effect may be issued  and  directed  to
  any  officer  or  employee  of  the  department  of  finance, and in the
  execution thereof such officer or employee shall  have  all  the  powers
  conferred  by  law  upon sheriffs, but he or she shall be entitled to no
  fee or compensation in  excess  of  the  actual  expenses  paid  in  the
  performance  of  such  duty.  If  a warrant is returned not satisfied in
  full, the commissioner of finance  may  from  time  to  time  issue  new
  warrants and shall also have the same remedies to enforce the amount due
  thereunder  as if the city had recovered judgment therefor and execution
  thereon had been returned unsatisfied.
    c. Whenever there is made a sale, transfer or assignment  in  bulk  of
  any  part  or  the  whole  of  a stock of merchandise or of fixtures, or
  merchandise and of fixtures pertaining to the conducting of the business
  of the seller, transferor or assignor, otherwise than  in  the  ordinary
  course  of  trade  and  in the regular prosecution of said business, the
  purchaser, transferee or assignee shall at least ten days before  taking
  possession  of  such merchandise, fixtures, or merchandise and fixtures,
  or paying therefor, notify the commissioner  of  finance  by  registered
  mail of the proposed sale and of the price, terms and conditions thereof
  whether  or  not the seller, transferor or assignor, has represented to,
  or informed the purchaser, transferee or assignee that it owes  any  tax
  pursuant to this chapter and whether or not the purchaser, transferee or

  assignee  has  knowledge that such taxes are owing, and whether any such
  taxes are in fact owing.
    Whenever  the  purchaser,  transferee  or  assignee shall fail to give
  notice to the commissioner of  finance  as  required  by  the  preceding
  paragraph,  or  whenever  the  commissioner  of finance shall inform the
  purchaser, transferee or assignee that a possible claim for such tax  or
  taxes  exists, any sums of money, property or choses in action, or other
  consideration, which the purchaser, transferee or assignee  is  required
  to  transfer over to the seller, transferor or assignor shall be subject
  to a first priority right and lien for any  such  taxes  theretofore  or
  thereafter  determined to be due from the seller, transferor or assignor
  to the city, and the purchaser, transferee or assignee is  forbidden  to
  transfer  to the seller, transferror or assignor any such sums of money,
  property or choses in action to the extent of the amount of  the  city's
  claim.  For  failure  to comply with the provisions of this subdivision,
  the purchaser, transferee or assignee, in addition to being  subject  to
  the liabilities and remedies imposed under the provisions of article six
  of  the  uniform  commercial  code,  shall  be personally liable for the
  payment  to  the  city  of  any  such  taxes  theretofor  or  thereafter
  determined  to  be  due  to  the  city  from  the  seller, transferor or
  assignor, and such liability may be assessed and enforced  in  the  same
  manner as the liability for tax under this chapter.
    d.  The commissioner of finance, if he or she finds that the interests
  of the city will not thereby be jeopardized, and upon such conditions as
  the commissioner of finance may require, may release any  property  from
  the  lien  of  any  warrant  or  vacate  such  warrant for unpaid taxes,
  additions to tax, penalties and interest filed pursuant to subdivision b
  of this section, and such release or vacating  of  the  warrant  may  be
  recorded  in  the  office of any recording officer in which such warrant
  has been filed. The clerk shall thereupon cancel and discharge as of the
  original date of docketing the vacated warrant.