N.Y. Highway Law § 205-b: Qualified abandonment of certain town highways

§ 205-b. Qualified abandonment of certain town highways. 1.

Abandonment of town highways which are access roads to state forest

preserve lands or lands now owned or hereafter acquired by the state and

held under the jurisdiction of the department of environmental

conservation shall be qualifiedly abandoned in the following manner and

shall have the following effect:

a. upon written notice to the department of environmental

conservation, the town shall follow the procedure provided for in

subdivision two of section two hundred five of this chapter;

b. the resolution of abandonment shall provide that even though the

responsibility of maintenance of the road by the town shall cease, there

shall remain a public easement over such road in perpetuity;

c. the department of environmental conservation shall have the right

to maintain such road if it so desires;

d. no one, including the owner of adjoining land, may fence any

portion of such road, with or without gates;

e. the town, at any time, shall have the right to resume jurisdiction

over such road for any purpose;

f. the title to such road shall remain with the town.

2. For the purposes of this section, access roads to state forest

preserve lands or lands under the jurisdiction of the environmental

conservation department shall mean roads which are the only practical

means of ingress or egress to such state lands.

3. In no event shall the provisions of this section be construed so as

to require the maintenance or abandonment of roads within the state

forest preserve lands or lands now owned or hereafter acquired by the

state.