New York A 11418: Relates to land owned by not-for-profit conservation organizations

Bill Text

Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 Skip to main content 

 New York State Assembly

 Speaker Carl E. Heastie

 --> 
 --> 

 --> 

• 
 Assembly Members 

• 
 Legislative Info 

• 
 Public Hearings 

• 
 Speaker's Press 

• 
 Assembly Reports 

• 
 Committees & More 

• Bill Search Home
• Laws
• Legislative Calendar
• Public Hearing Schedule
• Assembly Calendars
• Assembly Committee Agenda 

 Javascript must be enabled to properly view this page. 

 Bill No.: 

• Summary 
• Actions 
• Committee&nbspVotes 
• Floor&nbspVotes 
• Memo 
• Text 
• LFIN 
• Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript 
A11418 Summary:

BILL NOA11418 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS S10557

&nbsp

SPONSORRules (Levenberg)

&nbsp

COSPNSR

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Add §§513 & 872, RPAP L

&nbsp

Prohibits any lands owned by a not-for-profit conservation organization from being taken by adverse possession; creates a cause of action by which not-for-profit conservation organizations and public bodies may compel the removal of encroachments on open space lands, or lands subject to a conservation easement, and recover restoration costs, reasonable attorney's fees, and multiple damages as appropriate, thereby shifting the cost burden of enforcing encroachments to the responsible party and discouraging further harm to open space managed for the public's benefit.

Go to top A11418 Actions:

BILL NOA11418 

&nbsp

05/15/2026referred to judiciary

Go to topA11418 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA11418 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA11418 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 11418

 IN ASSEMBLY

 May 15, 2026
 ___________

 Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Levenberg)
 -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary

 AN ACT to amend the real property actions and proceedings law, in
 relation to lands owned in fee by not-for-profit conservation organ-
 izations

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that non-for-pro-
 2 fit land conservation organizations spend a substantial amount of time
 3 and resources defending against encroachments on conserved land. Exist-
 4 ing mechanisms for addressing encroachments under New York law are not
 5 sufficient to cover the costs of restoration, let alone the time and
 6 expense of monitoring for encroachments and pursuing legal action to
 7 compel restoration and recover damages. Conservation organizations face
 8 additional burdens in ensuring that encroachments do not mature into
 9 adverse possession claims, which may compromise the protected status of
 10 lands acquired and managed as open space.
 11 By streamlining the process of enforcing encroachments, better align-
 12 ing the remedies available to conservation organizations and state
 13 government entities with the associated costs, and providing for
 14 enhanced penalties to dissuade especially malicious and damaging tres-
 15 passes, conservation organizations would be better positioned to steward
 16 their protected lands and advance the state's land conservation goals.
 17 Moreover, conservation organizations would be shielded from future
 18 adverse possession claims and similar attempts to acquire property
 19 interests by hostile occupancy, significantly reducing the threat posed
 20 by such claims to the continued integrity of conserved lands.
 21 § 2. The real property actions and proceedings law is amended by
 22 adding a new section 513 to read as follows:
 23 § 513. Adverse possession; not-for-profit conservation organizations.
 24 No length of possession, prescription, use or occupancy of land belong-
 25 ing to a not-for-profit conservation organization or of land subject to
 26 a conservation easement, as defined under section 49-0303 of the envi-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD15702-02-6

 A. 11418 2

 1 ronmental conservation law, shall create or continue any right in or to
 2 such land.
 3 § 3. The real property actions and proceedings law is amended by
 4 adding a new section 872 to read as follows:
 5 § 872. Action for the removal of encroaching not-for-profit conserva-
 6 tion organizations. 1. As used in this section, the following words and
 7 terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context indicates
 8 another or different meaning or intent:
 9 (a) "Open space land" means and includes, but is not limited to, any
 10 park, forest, wildlife management area, refuge, preserve, sanctuary,
 11 wildlife area or other conservation land owned by a not-for-profit
 12 conservation organization or a public body as defined in section 49-0303
 13 of the environmental conservation law.
 14 (b) "Encroach" means to conduct