N.Y. RCO Law § 487

§ 487. Reincorporation of present incorporated churches. 1. Any church\nheretofore incorporated may, subject to restrictions and limitations of\nexisting laws, reincorporate under the provisions of this article, by\nfiling in the county clerk's office in the county in which its principal\nplace of worship is located, a certificate, signed and acknowledged by\nall the trustees of said church in office at the time of such\nreincorporation, setting forth that the said church by a majority vote\nof the members present at a duly called meeting of the membership, as\ndetermined by the by-laws of the existing corporation, desires to\nreincorporate under the provisions of this article. Such certificate\nshall set forth those items specified in section four hundred eighty-six\nof this article.\n 2. The reincorporated corporation shall be deemed a continuation of\nthe previously organized corporation, but thereafter it shall have only\nsuch rights and powers and be subject only to such obligations as any\ncorporation created under this article, provided, however, that all\nproperty rights and liabilities of the previously organized corporation\nshall be vested in and assumed by the reincorporated corporation. The\ncorporate by-laws and officers of the reincorporated corporation shall\nbe the same as those of its predecessor until changed pursuant to the\nsaid by-laws, provided they conform to the provisions of section four\nhundred eighty-five of this article.\n