N.Y. County Law § 919-a: Block indices in the office of the county clerk in the county of Richmond

§ 919-a. Block indices in the office of the county clerk in the county

of Richmond. a. The county clerk of the county of Richmond shall

continue to index under the proper block numbers all instruments now

required by law to be recorded in the books of notices of lis pendens.

Such block index of notice of lis pendens shall be entitled "the block

index of notice of lis pendens" and shall be ruled for entering therein

the date of filing, the nature of the action, the nature of the

instrument, the court and index number, the first named defendant, the

first named plaintiff, the lot number or street address, if any, the

microfilm number and the proceedings had.

b. Such county clerk shall also continue to index under the proper

block numbers all statutory notices of liens or claims on land other

than lis pendens which may be filed or recorded in his office, which

index shall be entitled "the block index of liens" and shall be ruled

for entering therein the date of filing, the nature of the instrument,

the owner of the premises affected by the notice, the name and address

of the lienor by whom the claim is made, the amount, the lot number or

street address, if any, and the proceeding had.

c. On and after July first, nineteen hundred eighty-one, the use of

land maps in the office of the county clerk of the county of Richmond

shall be discontinued, and the land maps previously in use shall remain

on file for the purpose of reference. On and after such date, the tax

map for the borough of Staten Island shall be substituted for the land

map theretofore in use for the county of Richmond, and reference shall

be had to such tax map and to the block numbers designated thereon for

the purpose of indexing instruments required to be indexed in the block

index of notice of lis pendens or in the block index of liens. Such tax

map shall be conclusive as to the location of block boundaries and block

number designations. Such tax map may be referred to as the land map for

the county of Richmond.

d. Unless existing land and tax blocks are presently identical, on and

after July first, nineteen hundred eighty-one, the indices of all blocks

theretofore existing in the block index of notice of lis pendens and in

the block index of liens shall be closed except for the purpose of

completing the indexing of instruments filed prior to such date. New

block indices shall thereupon be opened for the block index of notice of

lis pendens and for the block index of liens, which new indices shall be

numbered to conform with the block numbers designated on the tax map of

the borough of Staten Island and shall thenceforth be used for all

entries relating to land in such blocks. The date of closing shall be

entered at the end of each block index so closed and a reference shall

be made to the block number of the corresponding block in the new block

index. All such new block indices shall be endorsed on the covers

thereof so as to show the date of the opening thereof.

e. Whenever the boundaries of any block on the tax map shall

thereafter be changed or altered and renumbered according to law, the

block indices of notice of lis pendens and of liens of such block

theretofore existing comprising the land in the changed or altered block

so renumbered as aforesaid shall, except for the purpose of completing

the indexing of instruments filed prior to such change or alteration and

renumbering be closed and discontinued and new block indices of notice

of lis pendens and of liens shall be opened for every such renumbered

block, which new index shall thenceforth be used for all entries

relating to land in such block. The date of closing shall be entered at

the end of each block index so closed and a reference shall be made to

the number of every new, changed or altered block to be used in place

thereof. The date of opening shall be entered at the beginning of every

new block index, with a reference to the number of every block before in

use for the land contained in such new block.

f. Every instrument presented to the county clerk of the county of

Richmond for filing and required to be indexed in the block index of

notice of lis pendens or in the block index of liens in order to entitle

the same to be filed shall have endorsed thereon the number of every

block on the current tax map in which the land affected by such

instrument is situate.

g. Such county clerk, so long as he deems it expedient, may prepare

alphabetical indices of the parties to the instruments mentioned in this

section, or to any of them, filed in his office, and of the owners of

land against which liens have been filed and of judgment debtors whose

names appear on record. The particular form of such alphabetical indices

shall be as such county clerk shall determine, and shall cover such

periods and be brought down to such dates as he shall direct in respect

to his own office.

h. Whenever any instrument entitled to be filed and indexed under the

provisions of this section shall be presented for record, there shall

forthwith be endorsed thereon the date, hour and minute of its receipt

and the same shall be entered in the proper index under the proper block

number thereof in accordance with the items set forth in subdivision a

or b of this section.

i. The entries made in the block indices of notice of lis pendens and

of liens in conformity with the requirements of this section shall for

the purpose of notice be deemed and taken to be a part of the record of

the instrument to which such entries respectively refer, and shall be

notice to subsequent purchasers or incumbrancers to the same extent and

with like effect as the filing of such instruments in the office of such

county clerk now is or may be notice.

j. In cases where any instrument shall have been filed with an

erroneous designation, such county clerk on presentation of proper proof

thereof shall enter such instrument in the proper index under the proper

block number of every block, the designation of which shall have been

erroneously stated. He shall at the same time make a note of such entry

and of the date thereof in every place in which such instrument may have

been erroneously indexed, opposite the entry thereof, and also upon the

instrument itself, if the same be in his possession or produced to him

for the purpose, and the record of such instrument shall be constructive

notice as to the property in any block not duly designated at the time

of such filing only from the time when the same shall be properly

indexed.