That must be a state law in NY ... I have kept a few "Hot" snakes in the past and there was no state laws dictating what you could keep as long as it wasn't listed.
I kept a copperhead for about a year, she tamed down so much (she never was that aggresive anyway) I could reach into the cage and rub her on the tail.
I was marking some property lines for a timber sale a few years ago (with my snake leggins on) and I was making my way through some thick stuff while keeping my compass bearing when I stepped on something that felt like a waterbaloon. I paused for a second becasue it felt kind of weird (I didn't know what it was and my mind was trying to figure out what could make my foot squish around like that). I took another step off of it and tunred and looked and I had dead centered a 4 foot timber rattler.... and there was another one laying right beside it (mating season I suppose). My heart rate got up when I realized what I had done, but the two snakes never rattled or acted aggressive, they quickly retreated to thicker brush off the property line.