MATTER OF CITY OF BINGHAMTON v. MEAGHER

AULISI, J.

Appeal by the plaintiff from a judgment and order of the Supreme Court, Broome County, which confirmed the report of the Commissioners of Appraisal. The City of Binghamton appropriated land owned by the respondents in the downtown section. Respondents' appraiser valued the property at $32,850 and the appraiser for plaintiff found a fair market value of $12,000. Both experts relied on comparable sales, and both considered that the raw land was usable for commercial purposes. The Commissioners made an award of $31,000 for vacant land. On this appeal plaintiff limits itself to the argument that in introducing evidence of value based on comparables respondents' expert erroneously neglected to account for the value of improvements. It is clear, however, that on the basis of the use made of the properties comprising the comparables directly after their purchase that the improvements could not have been considered of any value by the parties to the transaction. Moreover, there was no evidence produced by plaintiff at the trial which at all impairs respondents' expert's opinion that the comparables were based on land value only. The argument now on appeal that this expert's opinion is suspect because he had no information at hand concerning the improvements on the comparables is totally unpersuasive in view of the evidence that the improvements had no bearing on these sales anyway. The award falls within the range of the testimony and, discerning no legal error raised by plaintiff and finding that in no way does the amount of the award shock the conscience of the court, we are bound to affirm ( Matter of Huie, 2 N.Y.2d 168, 175). Judgment and order affirmed, with costs. Gibson, P.J., Herlihy, Reynolds, Aulisi and Staley, Jr., JJ., concur in memorandum by Aulisi, J.