§ 918. General provisions pertaining to records in offices of county
clerks. 1. The clerk of each of the counties within the city of New York
is authorized and empowered to do such further acts for rearrangement,
care, repair, restoration, preservation, indexing and convenient
examination of the records, documents, maps and papers filed or recorded
in his office as in his judgment will best serve the public interest.

2. The clerk of the county of Richmond is hereby authorized, in his
discretion, to destroy copies and originals of chattel mortgages, bills
of sale and conditional bills of sale filed in his office, after the
expiration of ten years from the date of filing.

3. All books, records, maps and other public papers which are now
public records in the offices of the county clerks of New York, Kings,
Bronx, Queens and Richmond shall continue to be public records. The
county clerk may cause copies thereof to be made by photocopying or
other process, in his discretion, whenever by reason of age, use,
exposure or any casualty, such copies shall in his judgment be
desirable. All copies of any records filed in any such office, when
certified by any such clerk to be accurate copies thereof, shall for all
purposes have the same force and effect as the original. Unless
otherwise ordered by the appellate division pursuant to section
eighty-nine of the judiciary law, the original shall be placed in a
suitable enclosure and preserved, properly endorsed and indexed, for
such examination as may be directed by an order of court in any
proceeding in which the accuracy of the copy is questioned.

4. Any other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, the county clerk in
each of the counties within the city of New York is authorized and
empowered to maintain separate judgment docket volumes containing the
printed transcript or transcripts, in strict alphabetical order of
judgment made, entered and docketed in the civil court of the city of
New York against individuals, corporations, and other entities on behalf
of the parking violations bureau, the environmental control board, the
taxi and limousine commission, the department of consumer affairs and
the commissioner of jurors of the city of New York, provided that the
judgments made, entered and docketed in the civil court of the city of
New York against individuals, corporations, and other entities on behalf
of the department of consumer affairs shall be limited to final
decisions and orders that either (a) award restitution, or monetary
damages, to a consumer or worker; or (b) award such restitution, or
monetary damages, to a consumer or worker, together with civil penalties
or equitable relief. These volumes may be maintained in the form of
computer print outs which shall contain the date of judgment, the name
and address of the judgment debtor or debtors, the amount of the
judgment and other information which the county clerk may deem necessary
to sufficiently describe the parties to the action or proceeding or
nature or the manner of the entry of the judgment. The county clerk may,
in his or her discretion, in lieu of such volumes, maintain the
aforementioned data in a micrographic or computer retrievable format.
With respect to judgments on behalf of the parking violations bureau
such volumes or other format shall be maintained pursuant to this
subdivision for only those individuals, corporations, and other entities
having vehicles registered in the counties within the city of New York.

5. Any other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, the department of
consumer affairs may file a certified copy of the final decision or
order of such department, provided that such final decision or order
either: (a) awards restitution, or monetary damages, to a consumer or
worker; or (b) awards such restitution, or monetary damages, to a
consumer or worker together with civil penalties or equitable relief,
with the county clerk of any county within the city of New York where a
respondent resides or has a place of business, or, if the respondent is
a non-resident of the city of New York and no longer has a place of
business within the city of New York at the time such department seeks
to file such certified copy, the department of consumer affairs may file
such certified copy of such final decision or order with the county
clerk of the county in which the department of consumer affairs is
located. Such consumer or worker may file a certified copy of such final
decision or order provided that such person has been assigned such final
decision or order or a portion of such final decision or order
authorizing restitution, imposing monetary damages or providing
equitable relief to such person. The filing of such final decision or
order shall have the full force and effect of a judgment duly docketed
in the office of such clerk. The final decision or order may be enforced
by and in the name of the department, or by a person who has been
assigned such decision or order or a portion thereof, in the same manner
and with like effect as that prescribed by the civil practice law and
rules for the enforcement of a money judgment.