N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law § 76

§ 76. Initial child custody jurisdiction. 1. Except as otherwise\nprovided in section seventy-six-c of this title, a court of this state\nhas jurisdiction to make an initial child custody determination only if:\n (a) this state is the home state of the child on the date of the\ncommencement of the proceeding, or was the home state of the child\nwithin six months before the commencement of the proceeding and the\nchild is absent from this state but a parent or person acting as a\nparent continues to live in this state;\n (b) a court of another state does not have jurisdiction under\nparagraph (a) of this subdivision, or a court of the home state of the\nchild has declined to exercise jurisdiction on the ground that this\nstate is the more appropriate forum under section seventy-six-f or\nseventy-six-g of this title, and:\n (i) the child and the child's parents, or the child and at least one\nparent or a person acting as a parent, have a significant connection\nwith this state other than mere physical presence; and\n (ii) substantial evidence is available in this state concerning the\nchild's care, protection, training, and personal relationships;\n (c) all courts having jurisdiction under paragraph (a) or (b) of this\nsubdivision have declined to exercise jurisdiction on the ground that a\ncourt of this state is the more appropriate forum to determine the\ncustody of the child under section seventy-six-f or seventy-six-g of\nthis title; or\n (d) no court of any other state would have jurisdiction under the\ncriteria specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this subdivision.\n 2. Subdivision one of this section is the exclusive jurisdictional\nbasis for making a child custody determination by a court of this state.\n 3. Physical presence of, or personal jurisdiction over, a party or a\nchild is not necessary or sufficient to make a child custody\ndetermination.\n