N.Y. RAT Law § 20 — New York Code / Act RAT / Article 3 / Section 20
Board of transportation to determine necessity for railroads; routes; plan; consents; streets excepted
Status: in_force

§ 20. Board of transportation to determine necessity for railroads;\nroutes; plan; consents; streets excepted.  a. The board of\ntransportation upon its own motion may proceed, from time to time, to\nconsider and determine whether it is for the interest of the public and\nthe city that a railroad should be established therein, or whether it is\nfor the interest of the public and such city that any railroad which is\nto be or is owned by such city by virtue of the provisions of this\nchapter or any other law, should be extended beyond its previously\nestablished routes, or that any such routes should be modified or\nchanged, or that any of such previously established methods of\ntransportation should be replaced by other more convenient and\nserviceable methods. Upon the request in writing of the board of\nestimate at any time, such board of transportation shall proceed\nforthwith to consider and determine such questions, and in each case\nsuch board of transportation shall conduct such an inquest and\ninvestigation as may be deemed necessary in the premises. If, after any\nsuch consideration and inquest, such board of transportation shall\ndetermine that a railroad, in addition to any already existing,\nauthorized or proposed, or any extension, modification or change of the\nroute or method of transportation of any previously established railroad\nthat may be or is owned by such city by virtue of the provisions of any\nlaw, are necessary for the interest of the public and such city, it\nshall proceed to determine and establish the route thereof and the\ngeneral plan of construction. Such general plan shall show the general\nmode of operation and contain such details as to manner of construction\nas may be necessary to show the extent to which any street is to be\nencroached upon and the property abutting thereon affected. Such board\nof transportation, from time to time, may locate the route of such\nrailroad over, upon, under, through and across any streets, including\nblocks between streets, or partly over, under, upon, through and across\nany streets and partly through blocks between streets. The consent of\nthe owners of one-half or more in value of the property bounded on and\nthe consent also of the board of estimate shall be first obtained, or in\ncase the consent of such property owners cannot be obtained, the\ndetermination of the appellate division of the supreme court, given\nafter due hearing of all parties interested, shall be taken in lieu of\nthe consent of such property owners as provided in section twenty-one of\nthis chapter.\n  b. No public park nor any lands or places, lawfully set apart for, or\noccupied by, any public building of any city or county, or of the state,\nor of the United States, nor those portions of Grand, Classon, Franklin,\nBedford avenues and Downing street in the borough of Brooklyn, city of\nNew York, lying between the southerly line of Lexington avenue and\nnortherly line of Atlantic avenue, nor that portion of the borough of\nBrooklyn lying between and circumscribed by such avenues and streets\nexclusive of that portion of the streets in the foregoing territory upon\nor through which elevated railroads were in operation on the\nthirty-first day of January, eighteen hundred ninety-one; nor that\nportion of Classon avenue in such borough lying between the northerly\nline of Lexington avenue and southerly line of Park avenue, nor that\nportion of Washington avenue in such borough lying between Park and\nAtlantic avenues, nor that portion of Nostrand avenue in such borough\nlying northerly of the northerly line of Eastern parkway, nor Debevoise\nplace, Irving place and Lefferts place, Lee avenue, Waverly avenue, St.\nJames place, Cambridge place, Vanderbilt avenue and Clinton avenue in\nsuch borough of Brooklyn, nor that portion of the city of Buffalo lying\nbetween Michigan and Main streets, nor any part of Fifth avenue, in the\nborough of Manhattan, city of New York, nor that portion of any street\nwhich, on the thirty-first day of January, eighteen hundred ninety-one\nwas actually occupied by any elevated railroad structure, shall be\noccupied by any corporation for the purpose of constructing a railroad\nin or upon any of such streets, or upon or along either of such excepted\nstreets. It shall be lawful for such board of transportation to locate\nthe route of a rapid transit railroad by tunnel under any such streets\nand to locate the route of any railroad to be built, under this chapter,\nacross any of the streets which, on the thirty-first day of January,\neighteen hundred ninety-one, were occupied by an elevated railroad\nstructure in the city of New York, or across any of the streets excepted\nin this chapter at any point at which, in its discretion, the board of\ntransportation may deem necessary in the location of any route, or\nunder, or under and along, any of such streets which, on such date, were\nso occupied or so excepted in this chapter. Nothing in this chapter\nshall authorize the construction of an elevated railroad on Broadway\nsouth of Thirty-third street, nor on Madison avenue in the borough of\nManhattan, city of New York. It shall not be lawful to grant, use or\noccupy, for the purposes of an elevated railroad, except for the purpose\nof crossing the same, any portion of the following named streets in the\nborough of Manhattan, city of New York, that is to say: Second avenue,\nbelow Twenty-third street; Fourteenth street, between the easterly line\nor side of Seventh avenue, and the westerly side of Fourth avenue; nor\nEleventh street, west of Seventh avenue, nor any part of Bank street;\nNassau street; Printing House square, south of Frankfort street; Park\nrow, south of Tryon row; Broad street and Wall street.\n  c. The provisions of this section, with reference to any railroad for\nwhich routes and a general plan had been adopted by the board of rapid\ntransit railroad commissioners of the city before the twenty-third day\nof April, nineteen hundred, and for the municipal construction of which\na contract had been made by the city before such date, shall be deemed\nto have been in full force from before the time when the routes and\ngeneral plan for such railroad were so adopted by the board of rapid\ntransit railroad commissioners.\n  d. Upon the adoption of any route and general plan of construction of\nany railroad, under this chapter, the board of transportation shall\nprepare and file in the office of the secretary of the board of\nestimate, at or prior to the time of submission of such route and\ngeneral plan of construction to the board of estimate and the mayor for\napproval, a statement signed by at least two members of the board of\ntransportation and countersigned by its chief engineer, showing in\ndetail the estimated cost of construction and equipment of such railroad\nand the estimated time required for the completion of such construction\nand equipment, together with an estimate by years of the prospective\nresults of the operation of such railroad over a term of ten years from\nthe estimated date of the beginning of operation thereof.\n