N.Y. Educ. Law § 2575-F
Any employee represented by the united federation of teachers who is a member of the New York city board of education retirement system shall have the right to transfer their membership to the teachers' retirement system of the City of New York. To affect such a transfer, a member must give notice to the New York city board of education retirement system, within one year of such member becoming eligible for membership in the said teachers' retirement system, of such member's intention to transfer to the said teachers' retirement system. Membership in the united federation of teachers is not required to be covered under this section. Upon receipt of such notice, the New York city board of education system shall transfer to such teachers' retirement system the reserve on such members' benefits in the manner provided by subdivisions c and d of section forty-three of the retirement and social security law and notwithstanding subdivision l of such section. The former system shall also transfer to the latter system the member's contributions, which shall become such member's contributions in the latter system. A person so transferring shall be deemed to have been a member of the system to which such member has transferred during the entire period of membership service credited to such member in the system from which such member has transferred. Such transferee shall be entitled to all the rights, privileges and benefits of the system to which they have transferred.
N.Y. Educ. Law § 2575-F