L.L. 2002/023

Enactment date: 8/27/2002

Int. No. 14-B

By Council Members Moskowitz and Gallagher; also Council Members Comrie, Sanders, Jr. and Golden

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to newsracks.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislative findings and intent. The Council finds that the unregulated placement and maintenance of newsracks on the City's sidewalks present an inconvenience and danger to the safety and welfare of persons using such sidewalks, including pedestrians, persons entering and leaving vehicles and buildings, and persons performing essential utility, traffic control and emergency services. Further, the proliferation of unregulated newsracks has a deleterious impact on the appearance of such sidewalks and the City in general. The Council recognizes, however, that the dissemination of newspapers and other written matter is in the public interest, and that any governmental action with respect to such dissemination must be consistent with the protection accorded a free press by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. To accommodate these interests in a complementary and mutually advantageous manner, the Council adopts this local law.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a newsrack placed or installed on any sidewalk as of the effective date of this local law may continue to remain in such location until sixty days after the effective date of this local law. Thereafter, any such newsrack may remain in such location only if such newsrack is in compliance with the provisions of this local law.

§ 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, no person shall be subject to the imposition of criminal liability for any violation of section 19-128.1 of the administrative code of the city of New York as added by section two of this local law.

§ 5. This local law shall take effect one hundred and eighty days after its enactment into law, except that the commissioner of transportation shall be authorized to take such administrative actions deemed necessary to effectuate the provisions of this local law prior to its effective date.

L.L. 2002/024

Enactment date: 8/27/2002

Int. No. 114-A

By the Speaker (Council Member Miller) and Council Members Quinn, Baez, Brewer, Clarke, DeBlasio, Gerson, Jackson, Martinez, Moskowitz, Perkins, Reed, Rivera, Serrano, Yassky, Boyland and Lopez; also Council Member Koppell

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the recognition of marriages that are not recognized by the state of New York, domestic partnerships, and civil unions, lawfully entered into in other jurisdictions.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislative intent and findings. Same sex couples have faced many obstacles to full legal recognition of their relationships. The Defense of Marriage Act, Pub. L. No. 104-199, 110 Stat. 2419 (1996) defines marriage for purposes of federal law as the union of a man and woman and empowers states to deny recognition to same sex marriages entered into in other jurisdictions. Unlike the majority of states nationwide, New York State has not enacted legislation denying recognition to same sex marriages. However, the Domestic Relations Law, which governs marriage, does not explicitly recognize same sex marriage or authorize issuance of marriage licenses to same sex couples. In practice in New York State, same sex couples have not been able to obtain marriage licenses and, as a result, have not been able to legally marry.

In 1998, the Council passed the New York City Domestic Partnership Law, which codified prior Mayoral Executive Orders establishing rights and entitlements for City residents who register their domestic partnerships with the City Clerk. The Council now intends to extend New York City's commitment to recognizing rights of same sex partners by revising the definition of "domestic partners" in the administrative code to include persons who have lawfully registered domestic partnerships or entered civil unions or marriages not explicitly recognized by New York State in other jurisdictions, ensuring that such couples enjoy all rights and benefits currently available to domestic partners registered under New York City law.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 4. This local law shall take effect immediately.

L.L. 2002/025

Enactment date: 8/27/2002

Int. No. 247

By Council Members Sanders, Comrie, Gerson, Jackson, Liu, Yassky and Golden (by request of the Mayor); also Council Members Quinn and Gioia

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the Chinatown/Lower East Side empire zone.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislation findings and intent. Section 961 of the general municipal law provides that a city may adopt a local law authorizing the submission of an application to the New York state commissioner of economic development for designation of an area within the city as an empire zone. Such designation could greatly benefit the city of New York in that new businesses would be encouraged to locate in the zone, existing businesses would be encouraged to expand in the zone, and new and expanded businesses would generate new jobs for city residents.

§ 2. The city of New York is authorized to submit an application to the New York state commissioner of economic development for designation of an area within the city of New York as an empire zone.

§ 3. The boundaries of such area are set forth in section four of this local law.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 5. This local law shall take effect immediately.

L.L. 2002/026

Enactment date: 9/4/2002

Int. No. 203-A

By Council Members Provenzano, Addabbo, Baez, Clarke, Comrie, Davis, Gerson, Lopez, Nelson, Recchia, Rivera, Weprin, Vallone Jr., Lanza and Golden (by request of the Mayor); also Council Member Seabrook

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the installation of fire sprinklers in connection with the below-grade storage of flammable and combustible mixtures in mercantile occupancies.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 9. This local law shall take effect immediately, provided however, that any mercantile establishment existing on the date of enactment that lacks a system of automatic sprinklers required by this local law shall not be deemed to be in violation of the requirements of this local law if it is brought into compliance with such requirements on or before April thirtieth, two thousand four.