New York Laws
Article 46 - Uniform Vehicle Certificate of Title Act
2129 - Stolen, Converted, Recovered and Unclaimed Vehicles.

(b) Owner's or lienholder's report. An owner or a lienholder may
report the theft of a vehicle, or its conversion if a crime, to the
commissioner, but the commissioner may disregard the report of a
conversion unless a warrant has been issued for the arrest of a person
charged with the conversion. A person who has so reported the theft or
conversion of a vehicle shall, forthwith after learning of its recovery,
report the recovery to the commissioner.
(c) Garage operator's report. An operator of a place of business for
garaging, parking or storing vehicles for the public, in which a vehicle
remains unclaimed for a period of thirty days, shall, within five days
after the expiration of that period, report the vehicle as unclaimed to
the commissioner. A vehicle left by its owner whose name and address are
known to the operator or his employee is not considered unclaimed. A
person who fails to report a vehicle as unclaimed in accordance with
this subdivision forfeits all claims and liens for its garaging, parking
or storing.
(d) Commissioner's record. The commissioner shall maintain, and
appropriately index appropriate public records of stolen, converted,
recovered and unclaimed vehicles reported to him pursuant to this
section. The commissioner may make and distribute copies of any such
records so maintained to peace officers, when acting pursuant to their
special duties, or police officers upon request without fee and to
others for the fee, if any, the commissioner prescribes.
(e) Commissioner's action. The commissioner may suspend the
registration of a vehicle whose theft or conversion is reported to him
pursuant to this section; until the commissioner learns of its recovery
or that the report of its theft or conversion was erroneous, he shall
not issue a certificate of title for the vehicle.