If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this title shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered. The provisions of this title shall be liberally construed to assist the effectuation of the public purposes furthered hereby.
N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law § 3973