Sidney,

Everything here is done by lottery for anterless permits unless you're on private farmland and the owner has nuisance permits. There is a short window when the DEC grants additional permits to fill the quota. I actually got turned down one year and received a preference point for the following year but several weeks later they mailed me a tag anyway. Anyway hope this year is better than last. Opening Day and the days that followed we got 20" of snow and it ruined the week.