Section 11-712. 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, he or she 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 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  sheriff  shall
  be  entitled  to the same fees which the 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, transferor 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 section
  forty-four of the personal property law, shall be personally liable  for
  the  payment  to  the  city  of any such taxes theretofore 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.