S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8463
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               July 8, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. CUSICK -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Cities
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  general  city law, in relation to requiring the
   mapping of all private roads and ways
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section  1.  Section 36 of the general city law, as amended by chapter
 699 of the laws of 1963, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 458 of  the
 laws  of  1997,  subdivision  2 as amended by chapter 815 of the laws of
 1984, and subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 177 of the laws  of  2016,
 is amended to read as follows:
   § 36. Municipal  improvements  in  streets,  buildings  not  on mapped
 streets. 1. A city having a population of  less  than  one  million.  No
 public  municipal  street utility or improvement shall be constructed by
 any city having a population of less than one million in any  street  or
 highway  until  it  has  become  a  public street or highway and is duly
 placed on the official map or plan. No permit for the  erection  of  any
 building shall be issued unless a street or highway giving access to THE
 PRIMARY  FRONT  ENTRANCE OF such EXISTING OR proposed structure has been
 duly placed on the official map or  plan,  which  EXISTING  OR  PROPOSED
 street  or highway shall have been suitably improved to the satisfaction
 of the planning board in accordance with  standards  and  specifications
 approved  by  the appropriate city departments as adequate in respect to
 the public health, safety and general welfare for  the  special  circum-
 stances  of  the  particular  street  or  highway  or alternately that a
 performance bond sufficient to cover the full cost of  such  improvement
 as  estimated by such board shall be furnished to the city by the owner.
 Such performance bond shall be issued by a  bonding  or  surety  company
 approved  by  the  corporation counsel of the city, or by the owner with
 security acceptable to the legislative body, and shall also be  approved
 by  such  corporation  counsel  as  to  form,  sufficiency and manner of
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD13441-01-9

 A. 8463                             2
 
 execution. The term, manner of modification and method of enforcement of
 such bond shall be determined  by  the  planning  board  in  substantial
 conformity  with section thirty-three of this article. The applicant for
 such a permit may appeal from the decision of the administrative officer
 having  charge  of the issue of permits to the board of appeals or other
 similar board, in any city which has  established  a  board  having  the
 power  to make variances or exceptions in zoning regulations for: (a) an
 exception if the circumstances of the case do not require the  structure
 to  be related to existing or proposed streets or highways and/or (b) an
 area variance pursuant to section eighty-one-b of this chapter, and  the
 same  provisions are hereby applied to such appeals and to such board as
 are provided in cases of appeals on zoning regulations. The board may in
 passing on such appeal make  any  reasonable  exception  and  issue  the
 permit  subject  to  conditions  that  will protect any future street or
 highway layout. Any such decision shall be subject to review  under  the
 provisions of article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.
   2. A city having a population of one million or more. No public munic-
 ipal  street  utility  or  improvement  shall be constructed by any city
 having a population of one million or more in any EXISTING  OR  PROPOSED
 street  or highway until [it] THE EXISTING OR PROPOSED STREET has become
 a public street or highway [and is duly placed on the  official  map  or
 plan] IN WHICH THE STREET LINES HAVE BEEN OFFICIALLY PLACED, LAID OUT OR
 ESTABLISHED  ON  THE ADOPTED OFFICIAL MAP OR PLAN BY THE OFFICIAL ACTION
 OF THE APPROPRIATELY EMPOWERED BODY, with the exception that a city  may
 construct improvements and provide services to any public way (mapped or
 unmapped) if the public way has been open and in use to the public for a
 minimum  of  ten years. The existence of the public way must be attested
 to by documents satisfactory to the municipality,  such  as  reports  of
 city  agencies providing municipal services. No certificate of occupancy
 shall be issued in such city  for  any  EXISTING  OR  PROPOSED  building
 unless  [a]  THE  EXISTING  OR  PROPOSED  street or highway AND FRONTAGE
 giving access to [such structure has been duly placed  on  the  official
 map  or  plan,]  THE PRIMARY FRONT ENTRANCE OF SUCH EXISTING OR PROPOSED
 STRUCTURE HAS BECOME A PUBLIC STREET OR  HIGHWAY  IN  WHICH  THE  STREET
 LINES  HAVE  BEEN  OFFICIALLY  PLACED,  LAID  OUT  OR ESTABLISHED ON THE
 ADOPTED OFFICIAL MAP OR PLAN BY THE OFFICIAL ACTION OF THE APPROPRIATELY
 EMPOWERED BODY, AND which EXISTING OR PROPOSED street  or  highway,  and
 ADDITIONALLY any other mapped street or highway, NOT PROVIDING ACCESS TO
 THE  PRIMARY  FRONT  ENTRANCE,  YET abutting such building or structure,
 shall [have been] BE  suitably  improved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the
 department  of  transportation  of the city in accordance with standards
 and specifications approved by such department as adequate in respect to
 the public health, safety and general welfare for  the  special  circum-
 stances of the particular street or highway, or, alternately, unless the
 owner  has  furnished to the department of transportation of such city a
 performance bond naming the city as obligee, approved  by  such  depart-
 ment,  to the full cost of such improvement as estimated by such depart-
 ment, or other security approved by such department, that such  improve-
 ment  will be completed within the time specified by such department. If
 such improvement has not been installed within  the  time  specified  by
 such  department,  such  department may declare such performance bond or
 other security to be in default and shall collect, in the  name  of  the
 city, the sum remaining payable thereunder. Upon receipt of the proceeds
 thereof,  the  city  shall install such improvement. If the cost of such
 improvement exceeds the sum remaining payable under such bond  or  other
 security,  the  owner shall be liable for and shall pay to the city, the

 A. 8463                             3
 
 amount of such excess. Where the enforcement of the provisions  of  this
 section  would  entail practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship, and
 where the circumstances of the case do not require the structure  to  be
 related to FRONTAGE OR existing or proposed streets or highways ABUTTING
 THE EXISTING OR PROPOSED BUILDINGS, the applicant for such a certificate
 of  occupancy may appeal from the decision of the administrative officer
 having charge of the issuance of certificates of occupancy to the  board
 of  standards  and  appeals  or  other similar board of such city having
 power to make variances or exceptions in  zoning  regulations,  and  the
 same  provisions are hereby applied to such appeals and to such board as
 are provided in cases of appeals on zoning regulations. The board may in
 passing [on] such appeal make any reasonable  exception  and  issue  the
 certificate of occupancy subject to conditions ENUMERATED ON THE CERTIF-
 ICATE  OF  OCCUPANCY  that  will  protect  any  future street or highway
 layout, ADDRESS PUBLIC ACCESS, DELIVERY OF SERVICES AND  MAINTENANCE  OR
 OTHER  CONDITIONS  IN  RESPECT  TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND GENERAL
 WELFARE FOR THE SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE PARTICULAR UNMAPPED STREET.
 Any such decision shall be subject to review  under  the  provisions  of
 article  seventy-eight  of  the civil practice law and rules.  No permit
 shall be granted for the erection of any building or structure  in  such
 city  unless  the owner has furnished to the commissioner of transporta-
 tion of such city a policy of liability insurance, marked paid, in  such
 amounts  as  may be fixed by such department, insuring, indemnifying and
 saving the city harmless from any  claims,  suits,  demands,  causes  of
 action  and  judgments  by  reason of personal injuries sustained by any
 person or persons, including death, and from any claims, suits, demands,
 causes of action and judgments for damages to property, occurring on any
 such street or highway giving access to or abutting such  structure,  up
 to the date of the issuance of the certificate of occupancy or up to the
 date  of  the completion of the improvement of such street or highway as
 required by or pursuant to this section,  whichever  is  later.  In  the
 event that the owner is covered by such a policy of liability insurance,
 the department of transportation may accept a certificate of endorsement
 extending such policy to include and cover the city. Every permit issued
 for  the  erection  of  any  such  building or structure shall contain a
 statement that no certificate of occupancy will be issued  with  respect
 to such building or structure unless [a] THE EXISTING OR PROPOSED street
 or  highway  AND FRONTAGE giving access to THE PRIMARY FRONT ENTRANCE OF
 such structure has been duly placed on the official map or  plan,  which
 street  or  highway and ADDITIONALLY, any other mapped street or highway
 AND FRONTAGE, NOT PROVIDING ACCESS TO THE PRIMARY  FRONT  ENTRANCE,  YET
 abutting  such  building  or  structure  shall  [have  been] BE suitably
 improved to the satisfaction of the department of transportation of  the
 city  in  accordance  with standards and specifications approved by such
 department as adequate in respect  to  the  public  health,  safety  and
 general  welfare  for the special circumstances of the particular street
 or highway or, alternately,  unless  the  owner  has  furnished  to  the
 department of transportation a performance bond naming the city as obli-
 gee,  approved  by such department, sufficient to cover the full cost of
 such improvement as estimated by  such  department,  or  other  security
 approved  by  such  department,  that such improvement will be completed
 within the time specified by such department.
   3. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule  or  regulation  to  the
 contrary, a certificate of occupancy for a one or two family residential
 dwelling which is otherwise in compliance with all applicable laws shall
 be issued by the department of buildings of the city of New York for any

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 building [abutting an] WHOSE PRIMARY FRONT ENTRANCE IS DIRECTLY ACCESSED
 FROM  AN OPEN AND TRAVELED unmapped [street] PUBLIC WAY without a review
 by the board of standards and appeals in  the  following  circumstances:
 (a)  if  the  corporation  counsel of the city of New York has issued an
 opinion determining that the public way has been open and in use to  the
 public  for a minimum of ten years and has been attested to by documents
 satisfactory to the municipality, that the unmapped [street] PUBLIC  WAY
 abutting such building or structure shall have been suitably improved to
 the  satisfaction of the department of transportation of the city of New
 York in accordance with standards and specifications  approved  by  such
 department  as  adequate  in  respect  to  the public health, safety and
 general welfare for the special circumstances of the particular unmapped
 [street] PUBLIC WAY, and that such building  or  structure  is  equipped
 with  an automatic fire sprinkler, or (b) if the department of buildings
 of the city of New York determines that such one or two family  residen-
 tial  dwelling  is located within the same block and [fronting on] WHOSE
 PRIMARY FRONT ENTRANCE IS DIRECTLY ACCESSED ALONG THE SAME FRONTAGE FROM
 the same OPEN AND TRAVELED unmapped [street] PUBLIC WAY in  question  as
 another building or structure that successfully appealed to the board of
 standards and appeals and has been issued a certificate of occupancy and
 provided the unmapped [street] PUBLIC WAY fronting such one or two fami-
 ly  residential dwelling has been suitably improved to the standards and
 specifications  of  such  department  of  transportation,  and   further
 provided  that  such  one or two family residential dwelling is equipped
 with an automatic fire  sprinkler  system.  Nothing  contained  in  this
 subdivision  shall  limit the jurisdiction of the board of standards and
 appeals to determine the application of the zoning resolution.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.