N.Y. VAT Law § 1115

§ 1115. Interference with official traffic-control devices, railroad\nsigns or signals and other highway appurtenances. (a) No person shall,\nwithout lawful authority, attempt to or in fact alter, deface, injure,\nknock down, cover, remove, or otherwise interfere with any official\ntraffic-control device or any railroad sign or signal, or any\ninscription, shield, or insignia thereon, or any other part thereof; any\nbridge or similar structure; any monument, lamppost, telephone pole,\nfence, walk, curb, tree, rock cut or other appurtenance on a highway\nright of way.\n (b) For the purposes of this section the following terms shall have\nthe following meanings:\n 1. to "deface" shall include, but not be limited to, to damage,\ndestroy, disfigure, erase, ruin, distort, spoil or otherwise change the\nexternal appearance of an object by the use of chalk, crayon, paint,\nstain, ink or other similar material.\n 2. to "alter" a traffic-control signal shall include, but not be\nlimited to, changing or attempting to change the signal indications of a\ntraffic-control signal by use of a traffic-control signal preemption\ndevice.\n 3. "traffic-control signal preemption device" shall mean any device\ndesigned or used to change or attempt to change the signal indications\nof a traffic-control signal.\n (c) The presence in a vehicle of a traffic-control signal preemption\ndevice connected to a power source and in an operable condition is\npresumptive evidence of its use by any person operating such vehicle.\nSuch presumption shall be rebutted by any credible and reliable evidence\nwhich tends to show that such device was not in use.\n