Free Instructions For Filing Actions Against the City of New York, the State of New - New York

CIVIL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING ACTIONS AGAINST THE CITY OF NEW YORK, THE STATE OF NEW YORK THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Actions against CITY AGENCIES: In order to begin an action against New York City or one of its agencies or departments, you must give it notice. The City requires that you notify it of an injury or other claim within 90 days of the occurrence. When you notify the City of the occurrence, you will receive a "Notice of Claim." You may get further information by calling "311." The City agencies listed immediately below are "Mayoral Agencies." 1. Office of the Comptroller 2. Office of the Mayor 3. Fire Department/Emergency Medical Service 4. Police Dept. (Including Housing/Transit) 5. Sanitation Department 6. Department of Buildings 7. Department of Corrections 8. Department of Finance (Sheriff's Office) 9. Department of Environmental Protection 10. Dept. of Parks and Recreation 11. Dept. Housing Preservation and Development (City owned buildings, not projects) 12. Dept of Social Services/Human Resources Administration 13. Department of General Services 14. Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) 15. Department of Transportation (Ferries, Highways, Parking Violations Bureau) 16. New York City Community Colleges (2-year colleges) Actions against a Mayoral Agency: Obtain a Notice of Claim and a Claim Number from: City of New York Comptroller, One Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 After you have notified the City of the claim and obtained a number, you must wait 30 days to allow the City time to review your claim and perhaps settle with you. After the waiting period, you may start an action in Court. However, the action must be started within one year and ninety days of the time of the loss, damage or injury for the above agencies. Even though the Claim Number comes from the Comptroller, the Defendant who is being sued is: City of New York, Attn: Corporation Counsel, 100 Church St., 5th Fl., New York, NY 10007 Enter the Claim Number which you obtained, as well as any and all specific information regarding your claim on the application for a summons or claim. For actions against the following Non-Mayoral agencies, file a Notice of Claim with the agency itself. The agency will provide a Claim Number, if required. You should indicate the Defendant on the court form as:

N.Y.C. Department of Education 52 Chambers Street, Room 320, B4 New York, New York 10007

S.I.R.T.O.A 60 Bay Street, 6th Floor Staten Island, New York, 10301

N.Y.C. Health and Hospitals Corporation M.T.A. Bridges and Tunnels Office of Legal Affairs, Claims Division The Robert Moses Building 125 Worth Street, #527 Randall's Island, New York 10035 New York, New York 10013 N.Y.C. Transit Authority (MABSTOA) N.Y.C. Housing Authority, Law Dept. 130 Livingston Street th 250 Broadway, 9 Floor Brooklyn, New York 11201 New York, New York, 10007 (Claims to be filed in County of occurrence)

Please note this helpful hint. The word "Department" in the name of a City agency usually means that the Defendant who is being sued is the City of New York. When you see "Authority," "Board" or "Corporation" as part of the name of a governmental agency, it usually means that the Defendant who is being sued is that specific agency. Actions against STATE AGENCIES, for example: State Department of Motor Vehicles State Department of Commerce State Department of Labor State Insurance Department State University of New York City University (4-year colleges) State Insurance Fund must be filed in the Court of Claims of the State of New York The Gov. Nelson Rockefeller Empire State Plaza, Box 7344 Capitol Station, Albany, NY 12224 Tel: 518-432-3411 Actions against FEDERAL AGENCIES: For Bronx or New York Counties: U.S. District Court, Pro Se Office 500 Pearl Street New York, New York 10007 For Kings, Queens and Richmond Counties: Federal Court House 225 Cadman Plaza East Brooklyn, New York 11201

OTB may be sued in Civil Court, but not in Small Claims. When suing any government agency two key words must be kept in mind - timeliness and research. A person must act quickly in complying with that agency's procedures and must thoroughly research the procedures involved. You may wish to seek the advice of counsel. CIV-SC-25 (Revised, December, 2005)-i