New York City has been ordered to overhaul its tax system in a landmark ruling by the state’s highest court after black property owners claimed the process favors their counterparts in whiter affluent areas.

“After decades of avoiding responsibility to fix a universally acknowledged problem and a seven-year legal battle, city and state leaders will be required to create a property tax system that is equitable and just for millions of renters and homeowners in lower-income and minority communities,” said Martha Stark, policy director for Tax Equity Now New York, TENNY, the group that filed the lawsuit, in a statement after Tuesday’s ruling.