N.Y. General Municipal Law § 703: Petition by residents or property owners to initiate annexation of territory

§ 703. Petition by residents or property owners to initiate annexation

of territory. 1. Territory in one or more local governments adjoining

one or more other local governments may be annexed to the latter

pursuant to the provisions of this article. A petition for such

annexation, describing the territory, stating the approximate number of

inhabitants thereof, and signed (1) by at least twenty per centum of the

persons residing therein, if any, qualified to vote for officers of the

city or town in which such territory is situated or, if such territory

is situated in a village, for officers of such village, or (2) by the

owners of a majority in assessed valuation of the real property in such

territory assessed upon the last preceding assessment roll of, or

utilized by, the local government or governments in which it is

situated, may be presented to the governing board or boards of the

affected local government or governments in which such territory is

situated and a certified copy or copies thereof to the governing board

or boards of the local government or governments to which it is proposed

to annex such territory.

2. The petition must also be authenticated as to all the signatures

upon each separate sheet by appending at the bottom of such sheet an

affidavit of a witness as to the subscription thereof, substantially as

follows:

State of New York )

) ss.:

County of )

........... (name of witness) being duly sworn, says: I reside at

........... in the .......... of .......... (fill in residence) in the

state of New York; I know each of the persons whose names are subscribed

to the above sheet having ............. (fill in number) signatures; and

each of them subscribed the same in my presence.

............................

(Signature of witness.)

Sworn to before me this ....

day of ............ , 19....

............................

(Official title of officer)

3. If the petition is signed by the owners of a majority in assessed

valuation of the real property in such territory assessed upon the last

preceding assessment roll of, or utilized by, the local government or

governments in which the territory is situated, there must be attached

to the petition a certificate of an assessor responsible for the

preparation of such assessment roll certifying to such facts. If signed

by at least twenty per centum of the qualified resident electors, as

defined in subdivision one of this section, there must be attached to

the petition a certificate of the board of elections of the county

containing such territory, certifying to such facts.