2023 New York Laws › RPT - Real Property Tax › Article 1 - Short Title; Definitions › 102 - Definitions.

§  102.  Definitions.  When  used  in  this  chapter, unless otherwise
expressly stated or unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Assessing unit" means: (a) a city, town, or county with the  power
to  assess  real  property, unless the city, town or county is part of a
consolidated assessing unit;
(b) a consolidated assessing unit; or
(c) a village as provided in section  fourteen  hundred  two  of  this
chapter.
2.  "Assessment"  means  a  determination made by assessors of (1) the
valuation of real property,  including  the  valuation  of  exempt  real
property  and (2) whether or not real property is subject to taxation or
special ad valorem levies.
3. "Assessors" mean  an  elected  or  appointed  officer  or  body  of
officers  charged  by law with the duty of assessing real property in an
assessing unit for the  purposes  of  taxation  or  special  ad  valorem
levies,  for  county,  city,  town,  village, school district or special
district purposes.
4. "Board  of  assessment  review"  means  the  body  of  officers  as
constituted  by  subdivision one of section five hundred twenty-three of
this chapter and, in the case of villages, by subdivision one of section
fourteen hundred eight of this chapter which is empowered  to  hear  and
determine complaints in relation to assessments.
4-a.  "Chief  executive  officer" means (a) in the case of cities, the
mayor, except in cities having a city manager in  which  case  it  shall
mean the city manager, (b) in the case of villages, the mayor and (c) in
the case of towns, the supervisor.
5.  "Collecting  officer" means an elected or appointed officer of any
municipal corporation or special district authorized by law  to  receive
and collect taxes, special ad valorem levies or special assessments.
5-a. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of taxation and finance.
6. "Comptroller" means the state comptroller.
6-a. "Consolidated assessing unit" means an assessing unit established
pursuant to article sixteen of this chapter.
7.  "County  equalization  agency"  means  the  board  of supervisors,
commissioners of equalization or other county agency authorized by  this
chapter or any other law to establish county equalization rates.
8.  "County  equalization  rate" means the percentage of full value at
which taxable real property in a city or town is assessed as  determined
by a county equalization agency for purposes of apportioning county real
property taxes.
9.  "County  treasurer"  means  the  chief  fiscal officer of a county
charged by law with performing the duties of treasurer, by whatever name
known or called.
9-a. "Infant" or "minor" means a person who has not attained  the  age
of eighteen years.
9-b. "Department" means the department of taxation and finance.
10.  "Municipal  corporation"  means  a county, city, town, village or
school district.
11. "Parcel" means a separately assessed lot, parcel, piece or portion
of real property, except  publicly  owned  bridges  and  land  used  for
street,  road,  highway  or  parkway  purposes.  A  parcel  shall not be
bisected by a municipal corporation  boundary  line  except  that  in  a
special  assessing unit a parcel may be bisected by a school district or
village boundary line.
12. "Real property", "property" or "land" mean and include:
(a)  Land  itself,  above  and  under  water,  including   trees   and
undergrowth  thereon  and  mines,  minerals, quarries and fossils in and
under the same, except mines belonging to the state;
(b) Buildings and other articles  and  structures,  substructures  and
superstructures  erected  upon,  under  or  above  the  land, or affixed
thereto, including bridges and wharves and piers and the  value  of  the
right to collect wharfage, cranage or dockage thereon;
(c)   Surface,   underground   or  elevated  railroads,  and  railroad
structures, substructures and  superstructures,  tracks  and  the  metal
thereon,  branches,  switches and other fixtures permitted or authorized
to be made, laid or placed in,  upon,  above  or  under  any  public  or
private street or place;
(d)  When  owned  by  a  telephone company all telephone and telegraph
lines, wires, poles, supports and inclosures for  electrical  conductors
upon,  above  and  underground.  For purposes of this paragraph the term
"real property" shall not  include  station  connections  and  the  term
"telephone  company"  shall  mean a company subject to regulation by the
public service commission which provides, to the general  public  within
its  local exchange area, non-cellular switched local exchange telephone
service at the points of origination and termination of the signal.
(e) Mains, pipes and tanks permitted or authorized to be made, laid or
placed in, upon, above or under any public or private  street  or  place
for  conducting  steam,  heat,  water, oil, electricity or any property,
substance or product capable of transportation or conveyance therein  or
that is protected thereby;
(f)  Boilers,  ventilating  apparatus,  elevators,  plumbing, heating,
lighting  and  power   generating   apparatus,   shafting   other   than
counter-shafting  and  equipment  for  the  distribution of heat, light,
power, gases and liquids, but shall not  include  movable  machinery  or
equipment  consisting  of  structures  or  erections to the operation of
which machinery is essential,  owned  by  a  corporation  taxable  under
article  nine-a  of  the  tax law, used for trade or manufacture and not
essential for the support of the building, structure or  superstructure,
and removable without material injury thereto;
(g)  Forms  of  housing  adaptable  to motivation by a power connected
thereto, commonly called "trailers" or "mobile homes", which are or  can
be used for residential, business, commercial or office purposes, except
those  (1)  located  within the boundaries of an assessing unit for less
than sixty days, (2)  unoccupied  and  for  sale  or  (3)  "recreational
vehicles"  that  are  four  hundred  square  feet  or less in size, self
propelled or towable by an automobile or light duty truck  and  used  as
temporary  living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal
use. The value of any trailer or mobile home shall be  included  in  the
assessment  of  the land on which it is located; provided, however, that
if either the trailer or mobile home or the land on which it is  located
is  entitled  to any exemption pursuant to article four of this chapter,
other than the exemption authorized by section four hundred  twenty-five
of  this  chapter,  such  trailer  or  mobile  home  shall be separately
assessed in the name of the owner thereof;
(h) Special franchises as defined in  subdivision  seventeen  of  this
section.
(i)  When  owned  by  other  than  a telephone company as such term is
defined in paragraph (d) hereof, all lines, wires, poles,  supports  and
inclosures for electrical conductors upon, above and underground used in
connection  with the transmission or switching of electromagnetic voice,
video and data signals between  different  entities  separated  by  air,
street  or  other  public  domain,  except  that such property shall not
include: (A) station connections; (B) fire and surveillance alarm system
property; (C) such property  used  in  the  transmission  of  news  wire
services;  and  (D)  such  property  used in the transmission of news or
entertainment  radio,  television  or  cable  television   signals   for

immediate,  delayed or ultimate exhibition to the public, whether or not
a fee is charged therefor.
(j)  Spent  fuel  pools  and dry cask storage systems in which nuclear
fuel is stored and is pending further or final disposal from  a  nuclear
power  station  following the permanent cessation of power operations of
such station.
12-a. "Revaluation", "reassessment" or  "update"  means  a  systematic
review  of the assessments of all locally assessed properties, valued as
of  the  valuation  date  of  the  assessment  roll   containing   those
assessments,  to  attain  compliance with the standard of assessment set
forth in subdivision two of section three hundred five of this chapter.
13. "School authorities" mean the  board  of  education,  trustees  or
corresponding officers, whether one or more, of a school district.
14.  "Special  ad  valorem levy" means a charge imposed upon benefited
real property in the same manner and at  the  same  time  as  taxes  for
municipal   purposes   to  defray  the  cost,  including  operation  and
maintenance, of a special  district  improvement  or  service,  but  not
including any charge imposed by or on behalf of a city or village.
15.  "Special  assessment"  means a charge imposed upon benefited real
property in proportion to the  benefit  received  by  such  property  to
defray  the  cost,  including  operation  and  maintenance, of a special
district improvement or service or of a special improvement or  service,
but does not include a special ad valorem levy.
16.  "Special  district"  means a town or county improvement district,
district corporation or other district established for  the  purpose  of
carrying  on,  performing  or  financing  one  or  more  improvements or
services intended to benefit the health, welfare, safety or  convenience
of  the  inhabitants  of  such  district or to benefit the real property
within such district, and in which real property is subject  to  special
ad valorem levies or special assessments for the purposes for which such
district was established.
17.  "Special  franchise"  means  the  franchise,  right, authority or
permission to construct, maintain or operate in, under, above,  upon  or
through  any  public street, highway, water or other public place mains,
pipes, tanks, conduits, wires or transformers, with their appurtenances,
for conducting water, steam, light, power,  electricity,  gas  or  other
substance.  For  purposes of assessment and taxation a special franchise
shall include the value of the tangible  property  situated  in,  under,
above, upon or through any public street, highway, water or other public
place  in  connection  therewith.  The  term special franchise shall not
include central office equipment or  station  equipment  (except  public
telephone  terminal  equipment)  which first appears on assessment rolls
prepared on the basis of taxable status  dates  occurring  on  or  after
October  first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-five  and which is owned by a
telephone company as defined in paragraph (d) of subdivision  twelve  of
this  section,  or  owned  by  a  telephone  corporation  as  defined in
subdivision seventeen of section two  of  the  public  service  law  and
certified  by the public service commission under section ninety-nine of
such law, nor shall it include  property  of  a  municipal  corporation,
public  benefit  corporation or special district, nor shall it include a
crossing less than two hundred fifty feet in length of a public  street,
highway,  water  or other public place outside a city or village, unless
such crossing be the continuation of  an  occupancy  of  another  public
street, highway, water or other public place.
18.  "State  board"  or "board" means the state board of real property
tax services.
19. "State equalization rate" means the percentage of  full  value  at
which  taxable  real  property  in  a  county,  city, town or village is
assessed as determined by the commissioner.
20.  "Tax"  or "taxation" means a charge imposed upon real property by
or on behalf of a county, city, town, village  or  school  district  for
municipal or school district purposes, but does not include a special ad
valorem  levy or a special assessment. The term "tax" or "taxes" as used
in articles five, nine, ten and eleven of this chapter  shall  for  levy
and collection purposes include special ad valorem levies.
21.  "Tax  lien" means an unpaid tax, special ad valorem levy, special
assessment or other charge imposed upon real property by or on behalf of
a municipal corporation or special district which is an  encumbrance  on
real property, whether or not evidenced by a written instrument.