New York Consolidated Laws, Religious Corporations Law - RCO § 24. Government of churches incorporated prior to January first, eighteen hundred and twenty-eight

Any provision of this chapter shall not be deemed to apply to any church incorporated under any general or special law, prior to January first, eighteen hundred and twenty-eight, if such provision is inconsistent with or in derogation of any of the rights and privileges of such corporation as they existed under the law by or pursuant to which such corporation was formed, unless such corporation subsequent to such date, shall have lawfully reincorporated under a law enacted since the first day of January, eighteen hundred and twenty-eight, or unless the trustees of such corporation shall, by resolution, determine that the provisions of this chapter applying to churches of the same denomination and to the trustees thereof shall apply to such church, and unless such resolution shall be submitted to the next ensuing annual meeting of such church, and ratified by a majority of the votes of the qualified voters present and voting thereon.  Notice of the adoption of such resolution and of the proposed submission thereof for ratification, shall be given with the notice of such annual meeting, and in addition thereto, mailed to each member of such church corporation at his last known post-office address, at least two weeks prior to such annual meeting, and published once a week for two successive weeks immediately preceding such meeting in a newspaper, if any, published in the city, village or town in which the principal place of worship of such corporation is located, and otherwise in a newspaper published in an adjoining town.  If such resolution is so ratified, the trustees of such church shall cause a certificate setting forth a copy of such resolution, its adoption by the board of trustees and its due ratification by the members of such corporation, to be filed in the office of the clerk of the county in which the principal place of worship of such corporation is located.  Such county clerk shall cause such certificate to be recorded in the book in which certificates of incorporation of religious corporations are recorded in pursuance of law.