Section 56-0508. Foreclosure of a tax lien

Notwithstanding  any general, special or local law or ordinance to the
  contrary:
    1. upon the commencement of a proceeding to foreclose a tax lien,  the
  taxing  district  bringing  the  proceeding or any taxing district other
  than the one foreclosing the tax  lien,  having  any  right,  title,  or
  interest  in,  or  lien  upon,  any  parcel described in the petition of
  foreclosure may upon twenty days notice to all parties having any right,
  title, or interest in, or lien upon such parcel, move, at a special term
  in the court in which the foreclosure proceeding  was  brought,  for  an
  order granting such taxing district the temporary incidents of ownership
  of  such  parcel  for  the  sole  purpose  of  entering  the  parcel and
  conducting an environmental restoration investigation project upon  such
  parcel.
    2.  unless  prior to the return date of the motion brought pursuant to
  this section the parcel has been redeemed by a party having the right of
  redemption, the court shall enter an order granting such relief to  such
  taxing  district,  or, if more than one taxing district applies for such
  right, to the  taxing  district  which  the  court  determines  has  the
  greatest  public  interest,  but, where possible and proper, preferences
  for such relief should be accorded first to cities and villages,  second
  to  towns,  and third to counties. Such order shall be granted upon such
  terms and conditions as the court shall deem just and proper  to  permit
  the  environmental  investigation  to  go  on  unhindered  as well as to
  protect the interests of all other parties having  a  right,  title,  or
  interest  in  such  parcel.  Such  order  shall  act  as  a  stay to the
  foreclosure action on such parcel until  the  environmental  restoration
  investigation  project  has  been  completed and the final investigation
  report filed with the court pursuant to subdivision four of this section
  or such other time as the court may deem proper, and particularly upon a
  finding by the court that the investigation has not been carried out  in
  an expeditious manner.
    3. such temporary incidents of ownership by such taxing district shall
  also  qualify it as being the owner of such property for the purposes of
  obtaining funding from the state of  New  York  for  such  environmental
  restoration investigation project under this article or for such funding
  from  any source pursuant to any other state, federal, or local law, but
  such incidents of ownership shall not be sufficient to qualify it as the
  owner of such  property  for  the  purposes  of  holding  it  wholly  or
  partially  liable  for  any  damages,  past, present, or future from any
  release of any hazardous material, substance, or  contaminant  into  the
  air,  ground,  or  water,  unless such release was caused by such taxing
  district.
    4.  within  thirty  days  of  the  completion  of  the   environmental
  restoration   investigation  project  and  the  receipt  by  the  taxing
  jurisdiction of the final report  of  such  investigation,  such  taxing
  jurisdiction  shall  file  such  report  with the court on notice to the
  court and all other parties of record, and the stay of  the  foreclosure
  shall  be lifted (unless lifted earlier by a prior court order), and all
  incidents of temporary ownership of the  taxing  jurisdiction  that  was
  awarded  such  taxing  district, except any right to receive funding for
  the environmental restoration  investigation  project,  shall  cease  to
  exist,  and  nothing  in  this  subdivision  shall  preclude  the taxing
  jurisdiction that conducted the environmental restoration  investigation
  project  or  the  taxing  jurisdiction  that  commenced  the foreclosure
  action, if it  is  a  different  taxing  jurisdiction  than  the  taxing
  jurisdiction  which  conducted  the  investigation, from withdrawing the

  parcel from foreclosure pursuant to section eleven hundred  thirty-eight
  of the real property tax law.
    5.   all   costs   associated   with   any  environmental  restoration
  investigation project  conducted  pursuant  to  the  authority  of  this
  section  shall  be  added to the taxes owed to, and the tax lien of, the
  taxing   district   that   undertook   the   environmental   restoration
  investigation project pursuant to this section.