2013 New York Consolidated Laws
RCO - Religious Corporations
Article 2 - (3 - 27) GENERAL PROVISIONS
18 - Dissolution of religious corporations.

 
    §  18.  Dissolution  of religious corporations. Whenever any religious
  corporation shall cease to act in its corporate capacity and keep up the
  religious services; it shall be lawful for the  supreme  court  of  this
  state,  upon  the  application of a majority of the trustees thereof, in
  case said court shall deem it proper so to do, to  order  and  decree  a
  dissolution of such religious corporation, and for that purpose to order
  and  direct  a  sale and conveyance of any and all property belonging to
  such corporation, and after providing for the ascertaining  and  payment
  of  the  debts of such corporation, and the necessary costs and expenses
  of such sale and proceedings for dissolution, so far as the proceeds  of
  such  sale shall be sufficient to pay the same; such court may order and
  direct any surplus of such proceeds remaining after paying  such  debts,
  costs  and  expenses,  to  be devoted and applied to any such religious,
  benevolent, or charitable objects or purposes as the said  trustees  may
  indicate by their petition and the said court may approve.
    Such  application  to  said  court  shall  be  made  by petition, duly
  verified by said trustees, which petition  shall  state  the  particular
  reason  or  causes  why  such  sale  and  dissolution  are  sought;  the
  situation, condition  and  estimated  value  of  the  property  of  said
  corporation,  and  the  particular  object  or  purposes  to which it is
  proposed to devote any surplus of the proceeds  of  such  property;  and
  such petition shall, in all cases, be accompanied with proof that notice
  of  the  time  and place of such intended application to said court, has
  been  duly  published  once  in  each  week  for  at  least  four  weeks
  successively,  next preceding such application, in a newspaper published
  in the county where such corporation is located.
    In case there shall be  no  trustees  of  such  religious  corporation
  residing  in  the  county  in  which  such  corporation is located, such
  application may be made, and such proceedings taken, by  a  majority  of
  the members of such religious corporation residing in such county.
    In  case such corporation is under the jurisdiction of an incorporated
  ecclesiastical governing body such application  may  be  made  and  such
  proceedings  taken  by  such incorporated ecclesiastical governing body,
  provided the trustees or other officers  or  surviving  members  of  the
  local church shall refuse to act after request has been duly made by the
  governing  body,  and  in such case the proceeds shall be turned over to
  said governing body.