Robert - having cut my teeth on title in NYS, their statutes pertaining to covenants and restrictions are very burdensome.  Not only are there restrictions such as the ones you describe, there are still restrictions being recited that you cannot have any alcohol production on the property from the pre-prohibition era.  That must be a burden for some of those home microbrewers.  Also, if a property line is erased, any covenant and restriction then encumbers the entire property and can only be removed by the person who placed it or their heirs at law.  NYS legislature needs to revise its statutes on all of these ancient covenants and restrictions. 

 Imagine my surprise when I moved to MN 20 years ago to find out that covenants and restrictions die a natural death after 30 years unless renewed!  Since that time, I have searched in several states and find each one has their own quirks when it comes to covenants and restrictions.