§ 91 — Alteration or rehabilitation of existing crossing

§ 91. Alteration or rehabilitation of existing crossing. The mayor or\ncity manager and common council of any city, the president or mayor and\ntrustees of any village, the town board of any town, the board of\nsupervisors or county executive and the county legislature of any county\nhaving jurisdiction over street, avenue, highway or road which crosses\nor is crossed by a surface railroad at grade, below grade or above grade\nby structures heretofore constructed, or any surface railroad\ncorporation whose railroad crosses or is crossed by a street, avenue,\nhighway or road at grade, below or above grade, may bring their petition\nin writing to the commissioner of transportation, therein alleging that\npublic interest requires rehabilitation, an alteration in the manner of\nsuch crossing, its approaches, the method of crossing, the location of\nthe crossing, a change in the existing structure by which such crossing\nis made, the closing and discontinuance of a crossing and the diversion\nof the travel thereon to another street, avenue, highway road or\ncrossing, or if not practicable to change such crossing from grade,\nbelow grade or above grade or to close or discontinue the same, the\nopening of an additional crossing for the partial diversion of travel\nfrom the grade, below grade or above grade crossing and praying that the\nsame may be ordered. Upon any such petition being brought the\ncommissioner of transportation shall appoint a time and place for\nhearing the petition, and shall give such notice thereof as he shall\njudge reasonable, of not less than ten days, however, to such\npetitioner, the railroad corporation, the municipality in which such\ncrossing is situated, and if such crossing is in whole or in part in an\nincorporated village having not to exceed twelve hundred inhabitants,\nalso to the supervisor or supervisors of the town or towns in which such\ncrossing is situated, and in all cases to the owners of the lands\nadjoining such crossing and adjoining that part of the street, avenue,\nhighway or road to be changed in grade or location or to be\ndiscontinued, or the land to be opened for a new crossing and to such\nother parties deemed by him to be interested in the proceeding. The\ncommissioner of transportation shall give public notice of said hearing;\nand upon such notice and after a hearing or hearings the commissioner of\ntransportation shall determine what alterations or changes, if any,\nshall be made. The decision of the commissioner of transportation\nrendered in any proceeding under this section shall be communicated,\nafter final hearing, to the petitioner, the railroad corporation, the\nmunicipal corporation and all other parties who appeared at said hearing\nby counsel or in person. Any person aggrieved by such decision, or by a\ndecision made pursuant to sections eighty-nine and ninety, and who was a\nparty to said proceeding, may within sixty days appeal therefrom to the\nappellate division of the supreme court in the department in which such\ncrossing is situated, and to the court of appeals, in the same manner\nand with like effect as is provided in the case of appeals from an order\nof the supreme court. This section shall not apply to a state highway or\nany other highway upon which the commissioner of transportation proposes\nto alter an existing crossing of a railroad pursuant to any section of\nthe highway law.\n