2013 New York Consolidated Laws
VAT - Vehicle & Traffic
Title 10 - UNIFORM VEHICLE CERTIFICATE OF TITLE ACT
Article 46 - (2101 - 2135) UNIFORM VEHICLE CERTIFICATE OF TITLE ACT
2129 - Stolen, converted, recovered and unclaimed vehicles.

 
    § 2129. Stolen,  converted,  recovered  and  unclaimed  vehicles.  (a)
  Police or peace officer's report. A peace officer, when acting  pursuant
  to  his  special  duties, or police officer who learns of the theft of a
  vehicle not since recovered, or of the recovery of a vehicle whose theft
  or conversion he knows or has reason to believe has been reported to the
  commissioner, shall forthwith  report  the  theft  or  recovery  to  the
  commissioner.    Such  report  shall be in addition to any other reports
  required by law.
    (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.