2019 New York Laws
ABC - Alcoholic Beverage Control
Article 10 - Special Provisions Relating to Illicit Alcoholic Beverages and Stills
153 - Stills and Distilling Apparatus.

§ 153. Stills   and  distilling  apparatus.    Any  person  who  shall
  manufacture any illicit  alcoholic  beverage  or  who,  not  being  duly
  licensed  as  a distiller under the provisions of the alcoholic beverage
  control law, shall own, operate, possesses or have under his control any
  still or distilling apparatus is  guilty  of  a  felony.  "Still"  or  "
  distilling  apparatus"  shall  mean  any  apparatus  designed, intended,
  actually used, or capable of being used for or in  connection  with  the
  separating  of  alcoholic or spirituous vapors, or alcohol or spirituous
  solutions, or alcohol or spirits, from alcohol or  spirituous  solutions
  or  mixtures,  but shall not include stills used for laboratory purposes
  or stills used for distilling  water  or  other  nonalcoholic  materials
  where the cubic capacity of such stills is one gallon or less.
Provided,  however,  that  it  shall not be unlawful for any person to
  own, possess or have under his control any still or distilling apparatus
  (a) where the same has been duly registered in compliance  with  or  has
  otherwise  complied  with  the provisions of federal law and regulations
  issued pursuant thereto, or (b) where the same is  not  required  to  be
  registered under federal law, or (c) where the same is in the possession
  of a duly qualified manufacturer of stills under federal law.
The  unlawful  ownership, operation, possession, control or use of any
  still or  distilling  apparatus  or  illicit  alcoholic  beverage  is  a
  nuisance,  and  each  such  still  and  distilling apparatus and illicit
  alcoholic beverage is hereby declared to be a  nuisance,  and  when  any
  such  still  or distilling apparatus or illicit alcoholic beverage shall
  be  taken  from  the  possession  of  any  person,  the  same  shall  be
  surrendered  and forfeited to the sheriff of the county wherein the same
  shall  be  taken,  except  that  in  a  city  having  a  population   of
  seventy-five  thousand  or  more,  the  same  shall  be  surrendered and
  forfeited to the police commissioner or other head of the  police  force
  or  department of said city and except that in the county of Nassau, the
  same shall be surrendered and  forfeited  to  the  commissioner  of  the
  county police department.