N.Y. JUD Law § 121

§ 121. Official referees of the municipal court of the city of New\nYork. Every official referee of the municipal court of the city of New\nYork in the first or second judicial department who, pursuant to former\nprovisions of this section, is acting and in the discharge of his duties\nas such official referee at the time this section as hereby amended\ntakes effect, may continue to act as referee and to hear and report upon\nor to hear and determine any action, claim, motion, matter or proceeding\nreferred to him as provided in this section.\n To any such official referee of the municipal court of the city of New\nYork there may be referred to hear and report upon or to hear and\ndetermine by the president justice or acting president justice of that\ncourt any action, matter, claim, motion or proceeding pending in such\ncourt which now or hereafter may be referable by statute or rules and\npractice of court, in which the president justice or acting president\njustice shall deem that for any reason the expense of such reference\nshould not be borne by the parties to such action, claim, matter, motion\nor proceeding, and such official referee of the municipal court of the\ncity of New York shall not charge or receive from the parties to the\naction, claim, motion, matter or proceeding referred to him any fee or\ncompensation for any services rendered as such referee. The justices of\nthe appellate division in each department shall also have power to fix\nthe times and places for the hearing of references by the official\nreferees of the municipal court of the city of New York hereby continued\nin office, and to assign such official referees for such service to any\ncourt of record within such department, and to adopt, amend or rescind\nrules therefor.\n If the services of a stenographer shall be required in the action,\nclaim, matter, motion or proceeding so referred, an official\nstenographer shall be selected by such official referee of the municipal\ncourt of the city of New York from the official stenographers of that\ncourt, and the parties to the action, claim, matter, motion or\nproceeding shall not be required to pay any of the fees of such\nstenographer for taking the testimony and furnishing one copy thereof to\nthe referee if the referee shall order such copy.\n