N.Y. CNT Law § 661

§ 661. When sheriff party to an action or proceeding. 1. In an action\nor special proceeding to which the sheriff is a party, all mandates\nshall be directed to the county clerk of the county, who shall execute\nthe same with all the powers and duties of a sheriff including the power\nto arrest under civil process and to accept undertakings for jail\nliberties, and shall be subject to the same liability as the sheriff for\nescape. The place of confinement of such sheriff shall be a house other\nthan the jail or the home of the sheriff situate within the limits of\njail liberties, and such house shall be deemed the county jail for all\npurposes of confinement and liability for escape. Such clerk shall have\npower to prosecute such undertaking the same as a sheriff and may assign\nthe undertaking to the party at whose instance such sheriff was\narrested.\n 2. When the sheriff is the plaintiff in an action or special\nproceeding and another person is arrested under civil process at the\ninstance of the sheriff, the county clerk shall confine such person in\nthe county jail. The county clerk shall be liable in the same manner as\nthe sheriff, except that he shall not be liable while the person is\nconfined in the jail and in the custody of the sheriff.\n