§ 102. Definitions. When used in this chapter, unless otherwise
expressly stated or unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Assessing unit" means: (a) a city, town, or county with the power
to assess real property, unless the city, town or county is part of a
consolidated assessing unit;

(b) a consolidated assessing unit; or

(c) a village as provided in section fourteen hundred two of this
chapter.

2. "Assessment" means a determination made by assessors of (1) the
valuation of real property, including the valuation of exempt real
property and (2) whether or not real property is subject to taxation or
special ad valorem levies.

3. "Assessors" mean an elected or appointed officer or body of
officers charged by law with the duty of assessing real property in an
assessing unit for the purposes of taxation or special ad valorem
levies, for county, city, town, village, school district or special
district purposes.

4. "Board of assessment review" means the body of officers as
constituted by subdivision one of section five hundred twenty-three of
this chapter and, in the case of villages, by subdivision one of section
fourteen hundred eight of this chapter which is empowered to hear and
determine complaints in relation to assessments.

4-a. "Chief executive officer" means (a) in the case of cities, the
mayor, except in cities having a city manager in which case it shall
mean the city manager, (b) in the case of villages, the mayor and (c) in
the case of towns, the supervisor.

5. "Collecting officer" means an elected or appointed officer of any
municipal corporation or special district authorized by law to receive
and collect taxes, special ad valorem levies or special assessments.

5-a. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of taxation and finance.

6. "Comptroller" means the state comptroller.

6-a. "Consolidated assessing unit" means an assessing unit established
pursuant to article sixteen of this chapter.

7. "County equalization agency" means the board of supervisors,
commissioners of equalization or other county agency authorized by this
chapter or any other law to establish county equalization rates.

8. "County equalization rate" means the percentage of full value at
which taxable real property in a city or town is assessed as determined
by a county equalization agency for purposes of apportioning county real
property taxes.

9. "County treasurer" means the chief fiscal officer of a county
charged by law with performing the duties of treasurer, by whatever name
known or called.

9-a. "Infant" or "minor" means a person who has not attained the age
of eighteen years.

9-b. "Department" means the department of taxation and finance.

10. "Municipal corporation" means a county, city, town, village or
school district.

11. "Parcel" means a separately assessed lot, parcel, piece or portion
of real property, except publicly owned bridges and land used for
street, road, highway or parkway purposes. A parcel shall not be
bisected by a municipal corporation boundary line except that in a
special assessing unit a parcel may be bisected by a school district or
village boundary line.

12. "Real property", "property" or "land" mean and include:

(a) Land itself, above and under water, including trees and
undergrowth thereon and mines, minerals, quarries and fossils in and
under the same, except mines belonging to the state;

(b) Buildings and other articles and structures, substructures and
superstructures erected upon, under or above the land, or affixed
thereto, including bridges and wharves and piers and the value of the
right to collect wharfage, cranage or dockage thereon;

(c) Surface, underground or elevated railroads, and railroad
structures, substructures and superstructures, tracks and the metal
thereon, branches, switches and other fixtures permitted or authorized
to be made, laid or placed in, upon, above or under any public or
private street or place;

(d) When owned by a telephone company all telephone and telegraph
lines, wires, poles, supports and inclosures for electrical conductors
upon, above and underground. For purposes of this paragraph the term
"real property" shall not include station connections and the term
"telephone company" shall mean a company subject to regulation by the
public service commission which provides, to the general public within
its local exchange area, non-cellular switched local exchange telephone
service at the points of origination and termination of the signal.

(e) Mains, pipes and tanks permitted or authorized to be made, laid or
placed in, upon, above or under any public or private street or place
for conducting steam, heat, water, oil, electricity or any property,
substance or product capable of transportation or conveyance therein or
that is protected thereby;

(f) Boilers, ventilating apparatus, elevators, plumbing, heating,
lighting and power generating apparatus, shafting other than
counter-shafting and equipment for the distribution of heat, light,
power, gases and liquids, but shall not include movable machinery or
equipment consisting of structures or erections to the operation of
which machinery is essential, owned by a corporation taxable under
article nine-a of the tax law, used for trade or manufacture and not
essential for the support of the building, structure or superstructure,
and removable without material injury thereto;

(g) Forms of housing adaptable to motivation by a power connected
thereto, commonly called "trailers" or "mobile homes", which are or can
be used for residential, business, commercial or office purposes, except
those (1) located within the boundaries of an assessing unit for less
than sixty days, (2) unoccupied and for sale or (3) "recreational
vehicles" that are four hundred square feet or less in size, self
propelled or towable by an automobile or light duty truck and used as
temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal
use. The value of any trailer or mobile home shall be included in the
assessment of the land on which it is located; provided, however, that
if either the trailer or mobile home or the land on which it is located
is entitled to any exemption pursuant to article four of this chapter,
other than the exemption authorized by section four hundred twenty-five
of this chapter, such trailer or mobile home shall be separately
assessed in the name of the owner thereof;

(h) Special franchises as defined in subdivision seventeen of this
section.

(i) When owned by other than a telephone company as such term is
defined in paragraph (d) hereof, all lines, wires, poles, supports and
inclosures for electrical conductors upon, above and underground used in
connection with the transmission or switching of electromagnetic voice,
video and data signals between different entities separated by air,
street or other public domain, except that such property shall not
include: (A) station connections; (B) fire and surveillance alarm system
property; (C) such property used in the transmission of news wire
services; and (D) such property used in the transmission of news or
entertainment radio, television or cable television signals for
immediate, delayed or ultimate exhibition to the public, whether or not
a fee is charged therefor.

(j) Spent fuel pools and dry cask storage systems in which nuclear
fuel is stored and is pending further or final disposal from a nuclear
power station following the permanent cessation of power operations of
such station.

12-a. "Revaluation", "reassessment" or "update" means a systematic
review of the assessments of all locally assessed properties, valued as
of the valuation date of the assessment roll containing those
assessments, to attain compliance with the standard of assessment set
forth in subdivision two of section three hundred five of this chapter.

13. "School authorities" mean the board of education, trustees or
corresponding officers, whether one or more, of a school district.

14. "Special ad valorem levy" means a charge imposed upon benefited
real property in the same manner and at the same time as taxes for
municipal purposes to defray the cost, including operation and
maintenance, of a special district improvement or service, but not
including any charge imposed by or on behalf of a city or village.

15. "Special assessment" means a charge imposed upon benefited real
property in proportion to the benefit received by such property to
defray the cost, including operation and maintenance, of a special
district improvement or service or of a special improvement or service,
but does not include a special ad valorem levy.

16. "Special district" means a town or county improvement district,
district corporation or other district established for the purpose of
carrying on, performing or financing one or more improvements or
services intended to benefit the health, welfare, safety or convenience
of the inhabitants of such district or to benefit the real property
within such district, and in which real property is subject to special
ad valorem levies or special assessments for the purposes for which such
district was established.

17. "Special franchise" means the franchise, right, authority or
permission to construct, maintain or operate in, under, above, upon or
through any public street, highway, water or other public place mains,
pipes, tanks, conduits, wires or transformers, with their appurtenances,
for conducting water, steam, light, power, electricity, gas or other
substance. For purposes of assessment and taxation a special franchise
shall include the value of the tangible property situated in, under,
above, upon or through any public street, highway, water or other public
place in connection therewith. The term special franchise shall not
include central office equipment or station equipment (except public
telephone terminal equipment) which first appears on assessment rolls
prepared on the basis of taxable status dates occurring on or after
October first, nineteen hundred ninety-five and which is owned by a
telephone company as defined in paragraph (d) of subdivision twelve of
this section, or owned by a telephone corporation as defined in
subdivision seventeen of section two of the public service law and
certified by the public service commission under section ninety-nine of
such law, nor shall it include property of a municipal corporation,
public benefit corporation or special district, nor shall it include a
crossing less than two hundred fifty feet in length of a public street,
highway, water or other public place outside a city or village, unless
such crossing be the continuation of an occupancy of another public
street, highway, water or other public place.

18. "State board" or "board" means the state board of real property
tax services.

19. "State equalization rate" means the percentage of full value at
which taxable real property in a county, city, town or village is
assessed as determined by the commissioner.

20. "Tax" or "taxation" means a charge imposed upon real property by
or on behalf of a county, city, town, village or school district for
municipal or school district purposes, but does not include a special ad
valorem levy or a special assessment. The term "tax" or "taxes" as used
in articles five, nine, ten and eleven of this chapter shall for levy
and collection purposes include special ad valorem levies.

21. "Tax lien" means an unpaid tax, special ad valorem levy, special
assessment or other charge imposed upon real property by or on behalf of
a municipal corporation or special district which is an encumbrance on
real property, whether or not evidenced by a written instrument.