Looking to find copy of 23-year-old affidavit from NYC Dept of Finance

November 11, 2023 4:43 PM

I'm hoping someone with library or legal research skillz can help me turn up a document that was released by the Associate Commissioner for Legal Affairs for the New York City Department of Finance in 2000.

In the decision for Stevens v. Communicare which can be read here, there's a paragraph that reads:

Defendant Walker was arrested in August 2000, and charged with the theft of eleven properties by filing false deeds to the properties and selling them or using them to secure mortgage loans. According to a Kings County District Attorney press release, one of the 11 properties is plaintiff's properly at 466 Franklin Avenue. In an affidavit dated September 12, 2000, the Associate Commissioner for Legal Affairs for the New York City Department of Finance averred that the City has been advised that the signature of the grantor on the deed which "purports to transfer ownership from Ira Stevens to Communicare Properties, LLC" may be forged, and that until such time that the alleged fraudulent conveyance is nullified, "this affidavit shall serve as a notice to the public of a possible defect in the chain or title."

That affidavit mentioned above may turn out to be important to someone in my office. Now, I have managed to already find a copy of the press release from the King's County D.A., but have been unable to find the affidavit. It was put out by a City agency, so I would hope these things are archived somewhere? If anyone can locate the document, please let me know in comments or send me a MeMail. Thank you very much!

posted by The Pluto Gangsta to Law & Government (6 answers total)

Best answer: Have you checked the e-filing for the case you've linked too? I would be surprised if a copy of the affidavit isn't in the papers for the case as it is cited in the decision. You can see all of them on NYSCEF which is the NY courts website.

If you go to that link then click on "search as guest" and put in the index number 500013/2012 you'll be able to see all the filings that led to the decision. I didn't go through them all myself but I would look in the exhibits to the motions as it's likely it was an exhibit to one of them.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 5:08 PM on November 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: It's here (ex. J to the cross-motion).
posted by praemunire at 5:14 PM on November 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you both! I swear I had checked NYSCEF, but wasn’t able to spot it. I was hoping the affidavit would cover all the properties mentioned in the press release (which is also in NYSCEF) not just the one in the case.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:19 PM on November 11, 2023

It's possible that there were affidavits done for each. No harm in calling the Department of Finance and asking. You could also FOIL any related records, although that's the long game for sure.
posted by praemunire at 6:24 PM on November 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Check ACRIS for the property you’re interested in. The affidavits were likely recorded in the real records for each property.
posted by hovizette at 7:19 PM on November 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: hovizette, thank you very much for the suggestion! As it turned out, it looks like the Department of Finance filed several separate Affidavits, changing only the property info for each one, so I was able to find what I needed in ACRIS.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 10:06 AM on November 20, 2023 [1 favorite]