Section 20. Board of transportation to determine necessity for railroads; routes; plan; consents; streets excepted

a.   The   board   of
  transportation  upon  its  own motion may proceed, from time to time, to
  consider and determine whether it is for the interest of the public  and
  the city that a railroad should be established therein, or whether it is
  for  the interest of the public and such city that any railroad which is
  to be or is owned by such city by  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  this
  chapter  or  any  other  law,  should  be extended beyond its previously
  established routes, or that  any  such  routes  should  be  modified  or
  changed,   or  that  any  of  such  previously  established  methods  of
  transportation  should  be  replaced  by  other  more   convenient   and
  serviceable  methods.  Upon  the  request  in  writing  of  the board of
  estimate at  any  time,  such  board  of  transportation  shall  proceed
  forthwith  to  consider  and  determine such questions, and in each case
  such  board  of  transportation  shall  conduct  such  an  inquest   and
  investigation  as may be deemed necessary in the premises. If, after any
  such consideration and  inquest,  such  board  of  transportation  shall
  determine  that  a  railroad,  in  addition  to  any  already  existing,
  authorized or proposed, or any extension, modification or change of  the
  route or method of transportation of any previously established railroad
  that  may be or is owned by such city by virtue of the provisions of any
  law, are necessary for the interest of the  public  and  such  city,  it
  shall  proceed  to  determine  and  establish  the route thereof and the
  general plan of construction. Such general plan shall show  the  general
  mode  of operation and contain such details as to manner of construction
  as may be necessary to show the extent to which  any  street  is  to  be
  encroached  upon  and the property abutting thereon affected. Such board
  of transportation, from time to time,  may  locate  the  route  of  such
  railroad  over,  upon,  under, through and across any streets, including
  blocks between streets, or partly over, under, upon, through and  across
  any  streets  and  partly through blocks between streets. The consent of
  the owners of one-half or more in value of the property bounded  on  and
  the consent also of the board of estimate shall be first obtained, or in
  case  the  consent  of  such  property  owners  cannot  be obtained, the
  determination of the appellate division  of  the  supreme  court,  given
  after  due  hearing of all parties interested, shall be taken in lieu of
  the consent of such property owners as provided in section twenty-one of
  this chapter.
    b. No public park nor any lands or places, lawfully set apart for,  or
  occupied by, any public building of any city or county, or of the state,
  or of the United States, nor those portions of Grand, Classon, Franklin,
  Bedford  avenues  and Downing street in the borough of Brooklyn, city of
  New York, lying between the  southerly  line  of  Lexington  avenue  and
  northerly  line  of  Atlantic avenue, nor that portion of the borough of
  Brooklyn lying between and circumscribed by  such  avenues  and  streets
  exclusive of that portion of the streets in the foregoing territory upon
  or   through   which   elevated  railroads  were  in  operation  on  the
  thirty-first day of  January,  eighteen  hundred  ninety-one;  nor  that
  portion  of  Classon  avenue in such borough lying between the northerly
  line of Lexington avenue and southerly line of  Park  avenue,  nor  that
  portion  of  Washington  avenue  in  such borough lying between Park and
  Atlantic avenues, nor that portion of Nostrand avenue  in  such  borough
  lying  northerly of the northerly line of Eastern parkway, nor Debevoise
  place, Irving place and Lefferts place, Lee avenue, Waverly avenue,  St.
  James  place,  Cambridge  place, Vanderbilt avenue and Clinton avenue in
  such borough of Brooklyn, nor that portion of the city of Buffalo  lying
  between  Michigan and Main streets, nor any part of Fifth avenue, in the
  borough of Manhattan, city of New York, nor that portion of  any  street

  which,  on  the thirty-first day of January, eighteen hundred ninety-one
  was actually occupied by  any  elevated  railroad  structure,  shall  be
  occupied  by  any corporation for the purpose of constructing a railroad
  in or upon any of such streets, or upon or along either of such excepted
  streets.  It  shall be lawful for such board of transportation to locate
  the route of a rapid transit railroad by tunnel under any  such  streets
  and to locate the route of any railroad to be built, under this chapter,
  across  any  of  the  streets which, on the thirty-first day of January,
  eighteen hundred ninety-one,  were  occupied  by  an  elevated  railroad
  structure in the city of New York, or across any of the streets excepted
  in  this  chapter at any point at which, in its discretion, the board of
  transportation may deem necessary in  the  location  of  any  route,  or
  under, or under and along, any of such streets which, on such date, were
  so  occupied  or  so  excepted  in this chapter. Nothing in this chapter
  shall authorize the construction of an  elevated  railroad  on  Broadway
  south  of  Thirty-third  street, nor on Madison avenue in the borough of
  Manhattan, city of New York. It shall not be lawful  to  grant,  use  or
  occupy, for the purposes of an elevated railroad, except for the purpose
  of  crossing the same, any portion of the following named streets in the
  borough of Manhattan, city of New York, that is to say:  Second  avenue,
  below  Twenty-third street; Fourteenth street, between the easterly line
  or side of Seventh avenue, and the westerly side of Fourth  avenue;  nor
  Eleventh  street,  west  of Seventh avenue, nor any part of Bank street;
  Nassau street; Printing House square, south of  Frankfort  street;  Park
  row, south of Tryon row; Broad street and Wall street.
    c.  The provisions of this section, with reference to any railroad for
  which routes and a general plan had been adopted by the board  of  rapid
  transit  railroad  commissioners of the city before the twenty-third day
  of April, nineteen hundred, and for the municipal construction of  which
  a  contract  had been made by the city before such date, shall be deemed
  to have been in full force from before the  time  when  the  routes  and
  general  plan  for  such  railroad were so adopted by the board of rapid
  transit railroad commissioners.
    d. Upon the adoption of any route and general plan of construction  of
  any  railroad,  under  this  chapter,  the board of transportation shall
  prepare and file in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  the  board  of
  estimate,  at  or  prior  to  the  time  of submission of such route and
  general plan of construction to the board of estimate and the mayor  for
  approval,  a  statement  signed  by at least two members of the board of
  transportation and countersigned  by  its  chief  engineer,  showing  in
  detail the estimated cost of construction and equipment of such railroad
  and  the estimated time required for the completion of such construction
  and equipment, together with an estimate by  years  of  the  prospective
  results  of the operation of such railroad over a term of ten years from
  the estimated date of the beginning of operation thereof.