Section 459. Persons who are physically disabled

1. After a public hearing,
  the  governing body of a county, city, town or village may adopt a local
  law or a school district  may  adopt  a  resolution,  providing  for  an
  exemption  pursuant to the provisions of this section. Such local law or
  resolution may provide that an improvement to  any  real  property  used
  solely  for residential purposes as a one, two or three family residence
  shall be exempt from taxation to the extent of  any  increase  in  value
  attributable  to  such  improvement  if such improvement is used for the
  purpose of facilitating and accommodating the use and  accessibility  of
  such  real  property by (a) a resident owner of the real property who is
  physically disabled, or (b) a member of the resident  owner's  household
  who is physically disabled, if such member resides in the real property.
  A  local  law or resolution adopted pursuant to this section may provide
  that the exemption shall apply to improvements constructed prior to  the
  effective date of such local law or resolution.
    2. To qualify as physically disabled for the purposes of this section,
  an  individual shall submit to the assessor a certified statement from a
  physician licensed to practice in the state on  a  form  prescribed  and
  made available by the state board which states that the individual has a
  permanent  physical impairment which substantially limits one or more of
  such individual's major life activities, except that an  individual  who
  has  obtained  a certificate from the state commission for the blind and
  visually handicapped stating that such individual is legally  blind  may
  submit such certificate in lieu of a physician's certified statement.
    3.  Such exemption shall be granted only upon application by the owner
  or all of the owners of the real property on a form prescribed and  made
  available   by  the  state  board.  The  applicant  shall  furnish  such
  information as the board shall require. The application shall  be  filed
  together with the appropriate certified statement of physical disability
  or certificate of blindness with the assessor of the appropriate county,
  city,  town  or  village  on  or  before the taxable status date of such
  county, city, town or village.
    3-a. Notwithstanding the provisions  of  this  section  or  any  other
  provision  of law, in a city having a population of one million or more,
  applications for the exemption authorized pursuant to this section shall
  be considered timely filed if they are filed on or before the  fifteenth
  day of March of the appropriate year.
    4.  If  the assessor is satisfied that the improvement is necessary to
  facilitate and accommodate the use and accessibility by a  resident  who
  is  physically  disabled  and  that  the  applicant  is  entitled  to an
  exemption pursuant to this  section,  the  assessor  shall  approve  the
  application and enter the taxable assessed value of the parcel for which
  an exemption has been granted pursuant to this section on the assessment
  roll  with  the  taxable  property,  with the amount of the exemption as
  determined pursuant to subdivision one of this  section  in  a  separate
  column.  Once granted, the exemption shall continue on the real property
  until  the  improvement  ceases  to  be  necessary  to  facilitate   and
  accommodate  the  use  and accessibility of the property by the resident
  who is physically disabled.