N.Y. Real Property Tax Law § 560: Abandoned subdivisions

§ 560. Abandoned subdivisions. 1. Whenever more than five years has

elapsed after the subdivision of any tract of land into lots, plots or

sites, with or without proposed streets, the owner of such tract or any

part thereof composed of two or more contiguous lots may, by an

instrument in writing, duly executed and acknowledged, describing such

land, disclaim and abandon such subdivision including any streets not

opened, accepted or used by the public and which are not necessary for

the use of an owner or occupant of any part of such tract. Thereafter,

for the purpose of assessment, the lands described therein shall be

regarded as a single tract, provided a copy of such instrument is filed

(a) with the assessors, (b) if such tract is wholly or partly within a

village, with the clerk of each such village, and (c) if such tract is

wholly or partly within the unincorporated area of a town, with the town

clerk of each such town, and, if a map of such subdivision has been

filed in the office of a recording officer, provided such instrument is

recorded in the office of such recording officer. A notice of the

recording shall be endorsed by the recording officer upon the map at the

time of recording the instrument.

2. Neither the assessors nor the recording officer shall accept such

an instrument unless it has endorsed thereon or attached thereto a

certificate of the county treasurer and a certificate of the collecting

officer of any city, town or village wherein such property or any part

thereof is situate, stating that all taxes which have been levied

against such property have been paid according to the records in the

office of the person making the certificate and a receipt of the clerk

of each village or town in which any part of such tract is situate for

the filing of such instrument and a certificate of the county director

of real property tax services that the fee authorized by section five

hundred three of this article, if any, has been paid. In such counties,

no subdivision of any tract of land into lots, plots or sites or any

part thereof shall be abandoned, nor shall the county land map or the

county tax map be changed or altered to indicate such an abandonment

except as provided in this section.