N.Y. Nav. Law § 34-a

§ 34-a. Permits for racing shell regattas not required. Nothing\ncontained in section thirty-four of this chapter or in any other general\nor special law shall be deemed or construed as requiring any permit or\npermission to hold a regatta or race of rowing shells by any educational\ninstitution or amateur rowing organization in navigable waters of the\nstate. For the purpose of this section, a "racing shell" is defined to\nmean any boat, specially designed for racing and propelled solely by\nmeans of oars, not including lifeboats or standard type rowboats, not\nspecifically designed for rowing races. Any educational institution or\namateur rowing organization, however, shall file with the commissioner a\nnotification of all races to be held, setting forth the dates, places, a\ndescription of the course and the number of entrants in each race. No\nfee shall be charged for such filing.\n