2006 New York Code - Return.

 
    § 7008. Return. (a) When filed and served. The return shall consist of
  an  affidavit  to be served in the same manner as an answer in a special
  proceeding and filed at the time and place specified in  the  writ,  or,
  where  the  writ is returnable forthwith, within twenty-four hours after
  its service.
    (b) Content. The affidavit shall fully and  explicitly  state  whether
  the  person detained is or has been in the custody of the person to whom
  the writ is directed, the authority and cause of the detention,  whether
  custody  has been transferred to another, and the facts of and authority
  for any such transfer. A copy of any mandate  by  virtue  of  which  the
  person  is  detained shall be annexed to the affidavit, and the original
  mandate shall be produced at the hearing; where  the  mandate  has  been
  delivered  to the person to whom the person detained was transferred, or
  a copy of it cannot be obtained, the reason for failure  to  produce  it
  and the substance of the mandate shall be stated in the affidavit.