PC12 FLT CREW MISINTERPRETS CLB CLRNC FROM N90 CTLR AND CLIMBS ABOVE PUBLISHED ALT ON DALTON DEP FROM TEB.

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FOR THIS EVENT; THE CAPT WAS PF AND I; FO; WAS PNF AND WORKING THE RADIOS. ON FRIDAY; AUGUST 2004; WE WERE DEPARTING TETERBORO (TEB) ARPT ON THE 'DALTON DEP' DEP PROC ENRTE TO ZZZ. THE DEP PROC DICTATES A CLB TO 800 FT THEN A TURN TO 280 DEGS AND A CONTINUED CLB TO 1300 FT. TEB TWR INSTRUCTED US TO CONTACT NEW YORK APCH AS WE REACHED 800 FT AND HAD INITIATED THE TURN TO 280 DEGS. WE LEVELED OFF AT 1300 FT JUST AS I MADE CONTACT WITH THE CTLR. THE CTLR STATED; 'ACFT X RADAR CONTACT (??) MILES W OF TETERBORO; MAINTAIN VFR BELOW CLASS B (EWR) AIRSPACE.' I READ BACK THE CLRNC AS 'MAINTAIN VFR BELOW CLASS B; ACFT X.' UPON RECEIPT OF THE CLRNC; THE CAPT (PF) AND I DETERMINED THAT WE WERE NOT IN CLASS B OR D AIRSPACE AND THAT THE BOTTOM OF NEWARK'S CLASS B WAS 3000 FT. BASED ON THE CLRNC OF 'VFR BELOW CLASS B' WE DETERMINED THAT WE WERE CLRED TO ANY ALT BELOW THE CLASS B AIRSPACE AND CAPT INITIATED A CLB TO 2500 FT. UPON REACHING 2000 FT; THE CTLR CALLED US AND ASKED AT WHAT ALT WE WERE AT. I REPLIED; 'CURRENTLY 2000 FT.' THE CTLR REPLIED; 'YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AT 1300 FT.' TO WHICH I REPLIED; 'I THOUGHT WE WERE CLRED VFR BELOW CLASS B AIRSPACE; WE CAN DSND TO 1300 FT IF YOU WANT US TO.' THE CTLR REPLIED 'YOU'VE ALREADY BUSTED THE ALT; SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL STAY THERE.' WE MAINTAINED 2000 FT AND WERE GIVEN A VECTOR TO THE NW. MOMENTS LATER WE HEARD THE ACFT WHICH HAD BEEN BEHIND US IN SEQUENCE FOR DEP AT TEB MAKE RADIO CONTACT WITH NY APCH. THE ACFT WAS INSTRUCTED TO 'MAINTAIN VFR AT 1300 FT BELOW CLASS B AIRSPACE.' THE CTLR MADE SURE TO INCLUDE 'AT 1300 FT' IN WHAT WAS ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME INSTRUCTION WHICH HE HAD GIVEN OUR ACFT. SHORTLY THEREAFTER; WE WERE SWITCHED TO A DIFFERENT FREQ AND CONTINUED OUR FLT UNEVENTFULLY. IF A CTLR REQUIRES A SPECIFIC ALT; THE PHRASEOLOGY FOR AN INSTRUCTION SHOULD CLEARLY STATE THE DESIRED ALT. I BELIEVE THE CTLR IN THIS INSTANCE REALIZED THAT HE OMITTED THE INSTRUCTION OF A SPECIFIC ALT IN OUR CLRNC AND ENSURED THAT HE INCLUDED A SPECIFIC ALT IN THE CLRNC FOR THE ACFT FOLLOWING US. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR EXPANDED ON THE ALT OF THE CLASS B REFERENCE IN HIS RPT AND HE INDICATED THAT THE LISTED ALT OF 3000 FT MAY HAVE BEEN IN ERROR; GIVEN THE POSITION OF THE ACFT AND THAT 1800 FT MAY HAVE BEEN THE BASE OF THE CLASS B. THE RPTR AGAIN EMPHASIZED THAT HE BELIEVED THE CTLR ERRED WITH THE PHRASEOLOGY USED AND THAT SUBSEQUENT CLEARANCES TO ACFT ON THE SAME DEP PROC WERE ISSUED 'MAINTAIN VFR AT 1300 FT; BELOW CLASS B.' THE CAPT ALSO EXPRESSED SOME CONCERN REGARDING THE CTLR'S CLRNC GIVEN THE FACT THAT THEY WERE ON A FILED IFR FLT PLAN AND THE CTLR WAS TREATING THEM AS THOUGH THEY WERE VFR.