The Text

The city court of the city of New York is continued, and, from and after the first day of January in the second year following the adoption of this article, it shall have the same jurisdiction and power throughout the city of New York, under the name of the city court of the city of New York, as it now possesses within the county of New York and the county of Bronx, and original jurisdiction concurrent with the supreme court in actions for the recovery of money only in which the complaint demands judgment for a sum not exceeding three thousand dollars, and interest, and in actions of replevin, foreclosure of mechanic’s liens and liens on personal property where the property involved does not exceed in value the sum of three thousand dollars. Its jurisdiction to enter judgment upon a counterclaim shall be unlimited. It shall consist of the justices then in office, who shall continue to be justices of the court for the remainder of the terms for which they severally were elected or appointed, and the additional justices to be elected as provided in this section. The justices who were elected or appointed as justices of the city court of the city of New York shall be paid the compensation now fixed by law for such justices until the expiration of the terms for which they were respectively elected or appointed. Eight of their successors shall be elected by the electors of the county of New York and two by the electors of the county of Bronx, and hold office for ten years. There shall also be five additional justices, two of whom shall reside in and be chosen by the electors in the county of Kings, and one of whom shall reside in and be chosen by the electors in each of the counties of New York, Bronx and Queens, and all of whom shall be elected at the first general election following the adoption of this article, and they and their successors, who shall be chosen in like manner, shall hold office for ten years. Until the legislature shall otherwise provide, the county judge and surrogate of Richmond county shall perform in said county the duties of a justice of the city court of the city of New York and also the duties of a justice — of the supreme court at chambers or out of court. The Iegislature may in its discretion authorize the election of one or more additional justices of the city court in any county within the city of New York. The justices hereafter elected shall receive from the city of New York such compensation as may be fixed by law.
The justices of the city court of the city of New York shall choose one of their number to be the presiding justice thereof, who shall act as such during his term of office, and who shall be charged with the general administration of the court and the assignment of the justices to hold the terms thereof, subject to such regulations as the presiding justices of the appellate divisions of the supreme court in the first and second departments shall from time to time prescribe. The justices of said city court shall have power to appoint and remove a chief clerk of the court, and one or more deputy clerks in each county, who shall keep their respective office or offices at a place or places to be designated by the court, and whose duties shall be regulated and supervised by the presiding justice of the court.
All civil actions or proceedings pending on said first day of January in the county courts of the counties of Kings, Bronx, Queens and Richmond, respectively, are hereby transferred to the city court of the city of New York for hearing and determination at terms held within the counties in which the same shall be pending, and, for the purpose only of such hearing and determination and the enforcement of the judgments rendered thereon, said city court shall have and exercise the equity jurisdiction previously vested in the respective county courts from which such cases are so transferred, but not otherwise. Until the legislature shall otherwise provide, the clerk of the city court of the city of New York and the chief clerk of the county court in each of the counties of Kings, Bronx, Queens and Richmond, shall severally act within his county as a deputy clerk of the city court of the city of New York, and the presiding justice of the court shall make such rules and regulations respecting the clerk’s offices, the assignment of secretaries to the justices, court clerks, stenographers, interpreters and other attendants and the distribution of the business of the court in the said several counties as from time to time may be expedient, subject to such general regulations as the presiding justices of the appellate divisions of the first and second departments shall from time to time prescribe. Appeals from the city court of the city of New York shall be taken to the appellate term for the appropriate department or otherwise as may be prescribed by law.