New York Laws
Article 2 - Mechanics' Liens
25 - Priority of Liens and Assignments Under Contracts for Public Improvements.

(1). Except as provided in section five an assignee of moneys, or any
part thereof, due or to become due under a contract for public
improvement, whose assignment is duly filed prior to the filing of a
notice of lien or assignment of every other party to the action, shall
have priority over those parties to the extent of advances made upon
such assignment before the filing of the notice of lien or assignment
next subsequent to his assignment, but as to advances made subsequent to
a notice of lien or assignment filed and unsatisfied or not discharged
such assignee for the purpose of determining his proportionate share of
moneys available for distribution as provided in subdivision four of
this section shall be treated as a lienor having a lien to the extent of
advances so made.
(2) An assignee of moneys or any part thereof, due or to become due
under a contract for a public improvement whose assignment is duly filed
subsequent to the filing of the notice of lien or assignment of any
other party shall for the purpose of determining his proportionate share
of moneys available for distribution, as provided in subdivision four of
this section be treated as a lienor having a lien to the extent of
advances actually made upon such assignment prior to the filing thereof.
(3) Laborers for daily or weekly wages having liens under a contract
for a public improvement, shall have preference as a class for the full
amount of their unpaid wages over all other lienors having liens arising
under the same contract and without reference to the time when such
laborers shall have filed their notices of liens.
(4) There shall be no priority among labor lienors, as a class or
among other lienors as a class, and any moneys available for
distribution among lienors of any class shall be distributed pro rata in
accordance with their respective valid liens.
(5) Every assignment of moneys, or any part thereof, due or to become
due under a contract for a public improvement shall contain a covenant
by the assignor that he will receive any moneys advanced thereunder by
the assignee and will hold the right to receive such moneys as a trust
fund to be first applied to the payment of trust claims as defined in
section seventy-one of the lien law, and that he will apply the same to
such payments only, before using any part of the moneys for any other
purpose.