N.Y. SOS Law § 116

§ 116. Chief executive officers of local welfare departments;\nqualifications; appointment and removal; term. 1. Any inconsistent\nprovision of law, notwithstanding, the position of the chief executive\nofficer of a county or city social services department, whether referred\nto as commissioner or by other title, shall be in the non-competitive\nclass of the civil service, except any which is or may hereafter be in\nthe competitive class. Appointments to such positions in the\nnon-competitive class shall be for terms of five years and shall be made\nby the appropriate county or city body or officer. However, no person\nmay be appointed to or serve in any such position who does not meet the\nminimum qualifications required therefor by the state commissioner of\nsocial services pursuant to section seventeen.\n 2. Any inconsistent provision of law, general, special or local,\nnotwithstanding, the chief executive officer of a county or city social\nservices department shall also be subject to removal or sanction in\naccordance with the provisions of section thirty-four of this chapter.\n 3. As used in subdivision one "the appropriate county or city body or\nofficer" shall mean and refer:\n (a) in the case of a county, to the board of supervisors thereof,\nexcept when the county has a county executive, county president, county\nmanager or other officer or board authorized to appoint heads of\nadministrative departments or the chief executive officer of the social\nservices department, in which case it shall mean such executive,\npresident, manager, other officer or board;\n (b) in the case of a city, to the mayor, manager, other officer, or\nthe board having authority to appoint department heads or the chief\nexecutive officer of the social services department.\n