N.Y. Railroad Law Section 171
Consent of property owners and local authorities

A street surface railroad, or extensions or branches thereof, shall not be built, extended or operated unless the consent in writing acknowledged or proved as are deeds entitled to be recorded, of the owners in cities and villages of one-half in value, and in towns, not within the corporate limits of a city or village, of the owners of two-thirds in value, of the property bounded on and also the consent of the local authorities having control of that portion of a street or highway upon which it is proposed to build or operate such railroad, extension or branch shall have been first obtained. Such consents of property owners in the county of Kings which shall be hereafter executed, may be forfeited unless within sixty days after the execution thereof, the same shall be recorded in the office of the register of such county. Such register is hereby directed upon the payment of the proper fees to record all consents left with him for that purpose in books to be provided by him and paid for out of the funds provided to meet the expenses of said office. Such books shall be indexed according to the names of the consenting property owners and also according to the names of the streets, roads or other highways upon which the property to which the consent relates shall be bounded. In case the recording of such consents shall be hindered, delayed or prevented by legal proceedings in any court or from any other or different cause not within the control of the corporation upon which such requirement is imposed, the time for the performance of such act is hereby and shall be deemed to be extended for the period covered by such hindrance, delay or prevention. The consents of property owners in one city, village or town, or in any other civil division of the state, shall not be of any effect in any other city, village or town or other civil divisions of the state. Consents of property owners heretofore obtained to the building, extending, operating or change of motive power shall be effectual for the purposes herein mentioned and may be deemed to be sufficiently proved and shall be entitled to be recorded, wherever such consents shall have been signed, executed or acknowledged before an officer authorized by law to take acknowledgments of deeds, or before or in the presence of a subscribing witness, and without regard to whether or not the subscribing witness shall have affixed his signature in the presence of the subscriber, provided that the proof of such signing, execution or acknowledgment shall have been made by such subscribing witness in the manner prescribed by Real Property Law § 304 (Proof by subscribing witness)section three hundred and four of the real property law. In cities the common council, acting subject to the power now possessed by the mayor to veto ordinances; in villages the board of trustees; and in towns the superintendent of highways and the town board shall be the local authorities referred to, except that in villages where the control of the streets is vested in any other board or authorities, such other board or authorities shall be the local authorities referred to, and the consent of such other board or authorities hereafter or heretofore obtained shall be sufficient; if in any city or county the exclusive control of any street, avenue or other property which is to be used or occupied by any such railroad, extension or branch, is vested in any other authority, the consent of such authority shall also be first obtained. The value of the property above specified shall be ascertained and determined by the assessment-roll of the city, village or town in which it is situated, completed last before the local authorities shall have given their consent, except property owned by such city, village or town, or by the state of New York, or the United States of America, the value of which shall be ascertained and determined by making the value thereof to be the same as is shown by such assessment-roll to be the value of the equivalent in size and frontage of the adjacent property on the same street or highway; and the consent of the local authorities shall operate as consent of such city, village or town as the owners of such property. Whenever heretofore or hereafter a railroad has been or shall be constructed and put in operation for one year or the motive power thereof has been or shall be changed and put in operation for a similar length of time, such facts shall be presumptive evidence that the requisite consents of local authorities, property owners and other authority to the construction, maintenance and operation of such railroad or change of motive power have been duly obtained. No consent of local authorities given prior to May second, nineteen hundred and one, shall be deemed invalid because of any portion of the road or route consented to not being connected with an existing road or route of the corporation obtaining or acquiring such consent and all statements of extension filed under § 170 (Street surface railroads)section one hundred and seventy of this article in reference to the route or part thereof described in any consent of local authorities are hereby ratified and confirmed, whether the same were filed before or after the obtaining or acquiring of such consents, provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to affect any portion of a street surface railroad which is now in or upon any portion of a street which is under the jurisdiction of a park department in any city containing a population of over twelve hundred thousand inhabitants.

Source: Section 171 — Consent of property owners and local authorities, https://www.­nysenate.­gov/legislation/laws/RRD/171 (updated Sep. 22, 2014; accessed Apr. 26, 2025).

170
Street surface railroads 171
Consent of property owners and local authorities 172
Consent of local authorities 173
Condition upon which consent shall be given 173–A
The term “terminable permit” as used in this article shall mean and embrace every grant from a city, town or village of power, right or p... 173–B
Every city, town and village of this state, in addition to such powers as it may have relating to the granting of rights, privileges, fra... 173–C
Every city, town and village of this state shall have power, subject to the provisions of sections one hundred and seventy-three-a to one... 173–D
Whenever any street surface railroad is or may be operated along or upon any of the streets, roads, highways, avenues, parks or public pl... 173–E
The acceptance of a terminable permit, or the acceptance of an amendment to any existing license, grant, franchise, permit or consent inc... 173–F
Every terminable permit, and every amendment to any existing license, grant, franchise, permit or consent incorporating therein the terms... 173–G
Approval of permit or amendment by commissioner of transportation 173–H
Existing license, grant, franchise, permit or consent reinstated on invalidity of amendment 174
Proceedings if property owners do not consent 175
Percentage of gross receipts to be paid in cities or villages 176
Extension of route over rivers 177
Use of tracks of other roads 178
Repair of streets 178–A
Headlights 179
Within what time road to be built 180
Motive power 181
Rate of fare 182
Collection of fare 183
Construction of road in street where other road is built 184
Abandonment of part of route 185
Effect of dissolution of charter as to consents 186
Corporate rights saved in case of failure to complete road 187
Extensions and franchises confirmed 188
Certain consents of local authorities confirmed 189
Time extended for payment of percentage based on gross receipts 191
Road not to be constructed upon ground occupied by public buildings or in public parks 192
Center-bearing rails prohibited 192–A
Relocation of tracks 193
Right to cross bridge substituted for a bridge crossed for five years 194
Protection of employees 195
Platforms on new cars, how constructed 196
Protection to employees in the counties of Albany and Rensselaer 197
Protection of employees in the counties of Kings and Queens 198
Contracts for the adjustment of payments due certain cities 201
Construction of park railroads in cities having a population of one million five hundred thousand or upwards 202
Consents of property owners 203
Expense of construction and operation 204
Agreements for payment of cost of construction by instalments 205
Disposition of income 206
Motive power 207
Railroads in parks in New York city, by whom constructed 209
Change of motive power authorized 210
New streets across other than steam surface railroads
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Accessed:
Apr. 26, 2025

Last modified:
Sep. 22, 2014

§ 171’s source at nysenate​.gov

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