New York Laws
Article 2 - Mechanics' Liens
10 - Filing of Notice of Lien.

§ 10. Filing of notice of lien. 1. Notice of lien may be filed at any
time during the progress of the work and the furnishing of the
materials, or, within eight months after the completion of the contract,
or the final performance of the work, or the final furnishing of the
materials, dating from the last item of work performed or materials
furnished; provided, however, that where the improvement is related to
real property improved or to be improved with a single family dwelling,
the notice of lien may be filed at any time during the progress of the
work and the furnishing of the materials, or, within four months after
the completion of the contract, or the final performance of the work, or
the final furnishing of the materials, dating from the last item of work
performed or materials furnished; and provided further where the notice
of lien is for retainage, the notice of lien may be filed within ninety
days after the date the retainage was due to be released; except that in
the case of a lien by a real estate broker, the notice of lien may be
filed only after the performance of the brokerage services and execution
of lease by both lessor and lessee and only if a copy of the alleged
written agreement of employment or compensation is annexed to the notice
of lien, provided that where the payment pursuant to the written
agreement of employment or compensation is to be made in installments,
then a notice of lien may be filed within eight months after the final
payment is due, but in no event later than a date five years after the
first payment was made. For purposes of this section, the term "single
family dwelling" shall not include a dwelling unit which is a part of a
subdivision that has been filed with a municipality in which the
subdivision is located when at the time the lien is filed, such property
in the subdivision is owned by the developer for purposes other than his
personal residence. For purposes of this section, "developer" shall mean
and include any private individual, partnership, trust or corporation
which improves two or more parcels of real property with single family
dwellings pursuant to a common scheme or plan. The notice of lien must
be filed in the clerk's office of the county where the property is
situated. If such property is situated in two or more counties, the
notice of lien shall be filed in the office of the clerk of each of such
counties. The county clerk of each county shall provide and keep a book
to be called the "lien docket," which shall be suitably ruled in columns
headed "owners," "lienors," "lienor's attorney," "property," "amount,"
"time of filing," "proceedings had," in each of which he shall enter the
particulars of the notice, properly belonging therein. The date, hour
and minute of the filing of each notice of lien shall be entered in the
proper column. Except where the county clerk maintains a block index,
the names of the owners shall be arranged in such book in alphabetical
order. The validity of the lien and the right to file a notice thereof
shall not be affected by the death of the owner before notice of the
lien is filed.

2. Where the county clerk indexes liens in a block index, every notice
of lien presented to the clerk of a county of filing, in order to
entitle the same to be filed, shall contain in the body thereof, or
shall have endorsed thereon, a designation of the number of every block,
on the land map of the county, which is affected by the notice of lien.
The county clerk shall cause such notice of lien to be entered in the
block index suitably ruled to contain the columns listed in the
preceding paragraph, under the block number of every block so
designated. In cases where a notice of lien shall have been filed
without such designation or with an erroneous designation, the county
clerk, on presentation of proper proof thereof, shall enter such
instrument in the proper index, under the proper block number of every
block in which the land affected is situated, and shall, at the same

time, make a note of such entry and of the date thereof in every place
in which such instrument may have been erroneously indexed, opposite the
entry thereof, and also upon the instrument itself, if the same be in
his possession or produced to him for the purpose, and the filing of
such instrument shall be constructive notice as to property in the block
not duly designated at the time of such filing only from the time when
the same shall be properly indexed.

A county clerk may adopt a new indexing system utilizing
electro-mechanical, electronic or any other method he deems suitable for
maintaining the indexes.