N.Y. ENV Law § 15-2305

§ 15-2305. River improvement associations.\n There shall be in each river improvement district an association to be\nknown by the name of the district, as..................River Improvement\nAssociation. It shall be the object of this association to represent the\ninterests of its members before the department and elsewhere and to\nserve as a channel of communication between the members thereof and the\ndepartment. Each public corporation and each owner of land within the\ndistrict and each lessee of such land shall be a member of and shall\nhave an equal vote in the association. Such association may be formed\nvoluntarily as soon as the department has filed its first description of\nthe boundaries of the district. As soon as practicable after recording\nthe final order creating the district the association, if already\nformed, shall call a meeting of the members of the association and\nperfect a permanent organization. If no association has been formed the\ndepartment shall call a meeting for the purpose of forming such an\nassociation and a representative of the department shall preside thereat\nuntil a temporary chairman is elected. Such association shall adopt\nby-laws for the transaction of its business. The association shall\nchoose from among its members a president, secretary and executive\ncommittee and such other officers and committees as the by-laws may\nprovide. It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep a list of the\nmembers and their addresses and to furnish the department with a list of\nsuch members on request. The association may require the payment of\nannual dues or contributions to the association treasury, the amount of\nsuch contribution and the manner of collecting the same to be decided by\nthe association. The annual meeting of the association shall be held\nduring the month of February in each year, at which meeting the officers\nshall be elected and the association shall determine what further work,\nif any, it desires during the ensuing year. Immediately after the close\nof the annual meeting the secretary of the association shall submit to\nthe department a list of names and addresses of the officers for the\nyear and a petition setting forth the desires of the association.\n