I have just spoken to US F&W based in L.I, who kindly did a bit of research for me.
As far as the inspectors there are aware there is no enforcement or any specific regulations in NY state or city about Pots.
There are NO issues at the NY area airports( except conforming to Brazilian quotas and CITES rules) . They are NOT restricted in the state of NY.
The city (NYC) does have nebulous laws about predatory animals that can harm humans, but again, as far as US F&W are concerned there is no enforcement.
They referred me to the D.E.C ( dept of environmental control) for the city
Phone # is 718 482 4900
someone else can do the rest of the leg work and report back.
So far this appears to be an urban myth