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I don't know about NY, sorry.
Yes, people keep chickens as pets and also as a source of the occasional fresh egg. I kept a LOT o chickens over the years. They can be lots of fun and there's a LOT of different breeds to choose from according to what you want to do with the chicken.
Murray McMurray is a long time hatchery with a ton of different breeds to choose from. Most hatcherys will have a "hatching season" so you may have a wait to get chicks of certain types. Hatcheries send chicks that have just hatched(they arrive at 3 days old) so that they don't have to eat or drink on the shipping trip in their box.
Anytime it is very cold, chickens should have a heat source of some sort, although shelter is sometimes enough(depending on the shelter and the level of cold weather). Baby chicks DO need heat, draft-free conditions and proper food and water at all times.
There's a TON of books on keeping chickens, and you could probably find one at your local library or online on Amazon to buy cheaply. Keeping a few chickens is very popular right now, so there's most like a lot of sites for the home keeper of poultry to find online.
I hope this helped, and I would contact the local Animal Control to ask about legalty of keeping chickens where you are.
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