New York Laws
Article 17 - Municipal Annexation 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.