Contents:
License Conditions and Software Compatibility
Introduction
Contents
File Content

License Conditions - BYTES of the BIG APPLE™ MapPLUTO™ files are a licensed product of the NYC Department of City Planning and may only be used through a license granted by the Department. This product is licensed under terms and conditions of a separate "License Agreement" with City Planning that contains, among other things, provisions with respect to ownership, permitted and prohibited uses, third-party agreements, warranty and termination. Refer to the License Agreement for the full text of obligations and rights with respect to the use of this product.

Software Compatibility - The MapPLUTO files conform to vendor specific formats of MapInfo® Tables and ESRI® Shapefiles for use in ArcGIS 8.x. These files are data files, not programs. The user will require a GIS (Geographic Information System), CAD (Computer Assisted Design or Drafting), mapping, or other software package which can import the above file types. The BYTES of the BIG APPLE files have not been tested with every package that claims to import the above files.

Introduction
MapPLUTO files are joined datasets of the Department of City Planning’s Tax Lot Base Map files and PLUTO™ tax lot data files. These files were originally created for the Department staff to aide in policy making decisions. The files contain property information such as land use, ownership, assessed value, and zoning. MapPLUTO is created and maintained with information from various city agencies.The dates of the data sources range from October 2006 to November 2006.

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Contents
Each compact disc contains the MapPLUTO files in ESRI Shapefile and MapInfo Table format for one borough. Each borough data file contains the Tax Lot Base Map file clipped to the shoreline and joined to the PLUTO data file. The Tax Block and Tax Lot Base Map files include the borough boundary, community districts, tax blocks and tax lots (both clipped to the shoreline and unclipped - including areas of blocks and lots underwater). Please refer to the Tax Block & Tax Lot Base Map Files User Guide and the PLUTO User Guide for specific information about these products.

File Content
PLUTO Sources:
The BYTES of the BIG APPLE™ PLUTO™ data were developed by the Department of City Planning/Information Technology Division. The PLUTO tax lot data contain seventy data fields derived from data maintained by the Department of City Planning, Department of Finance, Department of Citywide Administrative Services, and from information contained in Landmarks Preservation Commission publications and website. The Division has also created additional fields based on data obtained from one or more of the major data sources. There are four basic types of data:

• Tax Lot Characteristics
• Building Characteristics
• Geographic/Political/Administrative Districts
• Geographic Fields formatted for use with DCP Geographic Mapping Files

Check the MapPLUTO™ file layout for a complete list of data fields. The metadata included on the CDs contain a detailed description of the data fields and of the base map geography.

Tax Lot Base Map Sources:
The Tax Lot Base Maps are digitized and maintained by the Department of City Planning/Information Technology Division. The primary source for the Tax Lot Base Maps is the Department of Finance tax maps. The Tax Lot Base Maps are a schematic representation of the tax block and lot outlines.

The files should not be used for applications that require precise measurements.

Coordinate System / Units of Measurement: The coordinates of lots in MapPLUTO are expressed in units of feet. The coordinate system used for the entire City is the New York Long Island State Plane Coordinate System (FIPS 3104) Feet, North American Datum 1983 (NAD83). The approximate ranges of coordinate values for the City are:

X-coordinate (East-West): minimum: 909900; maximum: 1067600
Y-coordinate (North-South): minimum: 117500; maximum: 275000

Spatial Accuracy: The Tax Lot Base Maps were created for planning applications at the Department of City Planning. High spatial accuracy was not of primary concern in their creation. A limited set of control points were used to loosely fit the files to New York Long Island State Plane Coordinate System.

The City of New York is in the process of conflating (i.e., graphically aligning) the Tax Lot Base Maps to precision aerial photography of the city. With this release of the Tax Lot Base Maps and MapPLUTO, approximately 95 percent of New York City tax block geography has been conflated, and will align spatially with the BYTES of the BIG APPLE Political and Administrative Districts and LION single line street geographic base map files. Alignment of tax lots within each tax block remains schematic.

Temporal Accuracy: The Tax Lot Base Map files are maintained in an update cycle in which changes mapped by the Department of Finance are incorporated into the files. The current release of the Tax Block and Tax Lot Base Maps and MapPLUTO, 06C, includes updates through October 2006.

Legal vs. Physical Features: These files are a representation of the City's tax blocks and lots. Tax blocks are not necessarily identical to physical blocks. Boundaries of tax blocks are not usually located at the curb line of a street. Many properties include areas under bodies of water. Most highways and many other public features are not represented in these files because their depiction does not arise from the delineation of tax lots.

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