A Notice of Claim is the form you need, and for a New York City claim it usually must be filed within 90 days of the injury with the NYC Comptroller.

The insurance company will tell you that a city claim is a waste of time: the City is "immune," the paperwork is brutal, and any payout will be too small to justify it.

What is actually true is narrower. New York City can be sued for injuries in Queens parks, playgrounds, sidewalks, and other city property, but the rules are much harsher than an ordinary injury case. The big trap is timing. Against a private property owner, you often have 3 years to sue. Against NYC, you usually need that Notice of Claim in 90 days, and the lawsuit itself is generally due within 1 year and 90 days.

Whether it is "worth it" usually comes down to two things:

• How bad the injury is
• How strong the proof is that the City caused or ignored the danger

If you blew out your knee at a Queens park basketball court because of a raised hole or broken surface, a small urgent-care visit may not justify months of fighting. But a torn ACL, surgery, missed work or school, rehab, and treatment at places like Elmhurst, Bellevue, or NYU Langone can make the claim financially serious.

The hard part is proof. For many city defect cases, the City argues it never got notice. Photos, 311 complaints, Parks Department repair records, witness names, and EMS reports matter fast.

Also, "NYC" is not always the right defendant. A city park claim usually goes through the NYC Comptroller. An MTA or NYC Transit bus claim has different notice rules. A State of New York claim, like some roadway or state property cases, goes to the Court of Claims, not the Comptroller, with different papers and deadlines.