§ 1541. Article applies to corporations and to the people of the state of New York. An action may be maintained, as prescribed in this article, by or against a corporation, or by or against an unincorporated association, as if it were a natural person, or such an action may be maintained by or against the receiver or other successor of any such corporation or association, or by or against the people of the state of New York, and the use of the masculine gender or of the term person in this article includes the people of the state of New York.