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NEW YORK CITY ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
Title 1: General Provisions
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Title 3: Elected officials
Title 4: Property of the City
Title 5: Budget; Capital Projects
Title 6: Contracts, Purchases and Franchises
Title 7: Legal Affairs
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Title 10: Public Safety
Title 11: Taxation and Finance
Title 12: Personnel and Labor
Title 13: Retirement and Pensions
Title 14: Police
Title 15: Fire Prevention and Control
Title 16: Sanitation
Title 16-A: [Commercial Waste Removal]
Title 16-B: Commercial Waste Zones
Title 17: Health
Title 18: Parks
Title 19: Transportation
Chapter 1: Streets and Sidewalks
Subchapter 1: Construction, Maintenance, Repair, Obstruction and Closure of Streets
§ 19-101 Definitions.
§ 19-101.1 Department of design and construction.
§ 19-101.2 Review of major transportation projects.
§ 19-101.3 Reporting requirement following the completion of major transportation projects.
§ 19-101.4 Online accessible list of pedestrian safety projects.
§ 19-101.5 Electric vehicle advisory committee. [Repealed]
§ 19-101.6 Notification of resurfacing work.
§ 19-102 Unlawful use or opening of street.
§ 19-103 Permits.
§ 19-104 Revocable consents.
§ 19-105 Rules.
§ 19-106 Right of entry.
§ 19-107 Temporary closing of streets.
§ 19-107.1 Open streets.
§ 19-108 Display of permit.
§ 19-109 Protection at work site.
§ 19-110 Liability for damage.
§ 19-111 Curbs.
§ 19-112 Ramps on curbs.
§ 19-113 Construction generally.
§ 19-114 Excavations or embankments near landmarks.
§ 19-115 Paving, generally.
§ 19-116 Paving by abutting owners.
§ 19-117 Licensing of vaults.
§ 19-118 Construction.
§ 19-119 Vault openings; protection of.
§ 19-120 Vault covers must afford secure footing.
§ 19-121 Construction and excavation sites; storage of materials and equipment on street.
§ 19-122 Removal of debris.
§ 19-123 Commercial refuse containers.
§ 19-124 Canopies.
§ 19-124.1 Banners.
§ 19-125 Posts and poles.
§ 19-126 Building, structure and crane moving.
§ 19-127 Use of hand trucks on the streets.
§ 19-128 Damaged or missing signs and signals.
§ 19-128.1 Newsracks.
§ 19-129 Board or plank walks.
§ 19-130 Balustrades.
§ 19-131 Restrictions on Clinton avenue.
§ 19-132 Restrictions on First place, Second place, Third place and Fourth place in the borough of Brooklyn.
§ 19-133 Removal of unauthorized projections and encroachments.
§ 19-133.1 Unlawful sidewalk ATMs.
§ 19-134 Certain extensions and projections not removable.
§ 19-135 Projections prohibited.
§ 19-136 Obstructions.
§ 19-137 Land contour work.
§ 19-138 Injury to or defacement of streets.
§ 19-139 Excavations for private purposes.
§ 19-140 Duties of police.
§ 19-141 Property owners may voluntarily lay sidewalks.
§ 19-142 Workers on excavations.
§ 19-143 Excavations for public works.
§ 19-144 Issuance of permit to open street within five years after completion of city capital construction project requiring resurfacing or reconstruction of such street.
§ 19-145 Pavements improperly relaid.
§ 19-146 Prevention of disturbances of street surface.
§ 19-147 Replacement of pavement and maintenance of street hardware.
§ 19-148 Safeguards against collision with posts, pillars and columns in streets.
§ 19-149 Criminal penalties.
§ 19-150 Civil penalties.
§ 19-151 Enforcement.
§ 19-152 Duties and obligations of property owner with respect to sidewalks and lots.
§ 19-152.2 Claim process.
§ 19-152.3 Appeal process to small claims assessment review part.
§ 19-153 Inspection, testing and repair of electrical-related infrastructure.
§ 19-154 Publication of street resurfacing information.
§ 19-155 Study of alternative roadway and sidewalk materials.
§ 19-156 Work zone safety on bridges.
§ 19-157 Pedestrian plazas.
§ 19-157.1 Theatre district zone.
§ 19-158 Notice requirement for work on resurfaced streets.
§ 19-159 Notification of tree planting when applying for sidewalk construction permits.
§ 19-159.1 The verification and repair of ponding conditions on roadways.
§ 19-159.2 Placement of street name signs.
§ 19-159.3 Temporary bicycle lanes.
§ 19-159.4 Chute closure devices required on concrete mixing trucks.
§ 19-159.5 Temporary truck loading zones.
§ 19-159.6 Notice requirement for public utility companies.
§ 19-159.7 Map of bicycle infrastructure conditions.
§ 19-159.8 Improvement of paved medians.
§ 19-160 Open restaurants; license and revocable consent required for sidewalk cafe and roadway cafe.
§ 19-160.1 Review and approval of petitions to establish and operate roadway cafes.
§ 19-160.2 Review and approval of petitions to establish and operate sidewalk cafes.
§ 19-160.3 Alcohol consumption in a sidewalk or roadway cafe.
§ 19-160.4 No advertising in a sidewalk or roadway cafe.
§ 19-160.5 Violations; penalties for a sidewalk or roadway cafe.
§ 19-160.6. Temporary authorization to operate.
§ 19-160.7. Report on compensation for revocable consent to operate sidewalk and roadway cafes.
Subchapter 2: Parking and Other Uses of Streets
Subchapter 3: Pedestrian Rights and Safety
Subchapter 4: Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Law
Chapter 2: Parking Violations Bureau
Chapter 3: Ferries
Chapter 4: Reduced Fare Contracts
Chapter 5: Transportation of Passengers for Hire by Motor Vehicles
Chapter 6: School Buses
Chapter 7: Accessible Water Borne Commuter Services Facilities Transportation Act
Chapter 8: Citywide Transit Study
Chapter 9: Photo Speed Violation Monitoring Program [Repealed]
Chapter 10: Special Hearing Procedures Applicable to Violations of Taxi and Limousine Commission Laws or Regulations
Chapter 11: Citywide Greenway Plan
Title 20: Consumer and Worker Protection
Title 20-A: [Shipboard Gambling]
Title 21: Social Services
Title 21-A: Education
Title 22: Economic Affairs
Title 23: Communications
Title 24: Environmental Protection and Utilities
Title 25: Land Use
Title 26: Housing and Buildings
Title 27: Construction and Maintenance
Title 28: New York City Construction Codes
Title 29: New York City Fire Code
Title 30: Emergency Management
Title 31: Department of Veterans' Services
Title 32: Labor and Employment
Title 33: Investigations
Title 34: Racial Equity
Appendix A: Unconsolidated Local Laws
The Rules of the City of New York
THE RULES OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
Title 1: Department of Buildings
Title 2: Board of Standards and Appeals
Title 3: Fire Department
Title 6: Department of Consumer and Worker Protection
Title 9: Procurement Policy Board Rules
Title 12: Franchise and Concession Review Committee
Title 15: Department of Environmental Protection
Title 16: Department of Sanitation
Title 17: Business Integrity Commission
Title 19: Department of Finance
Title 20: Tax Appeals Tribunal
Title 21: Tax Commission
Title 22: Banking Commission
Title 24: Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Title 25: Department of Mental Health and Retardation [Repealed]
Title 28: Housing Preservation and Development
Title 29: Loft Board
Title 30: Rent Guidelines Board
Title 31: Mayor's Office of Homelessness and Single Room Occupancy
Title 34: Department of Transportation
Title 35: Taxi and Limousine Commission
Title 38: Police Department
Title 38-A: Civilian Complaint Review Board
Title 39: Department of Correction
Title 40: Board of Correction
Title 41: Department of Juvenile Justice
Title 42: Department of Probation
Title 43: Mayor
Title 44: Comptroller
Title 45: Borough Presidents
Title 46: Law Department
Title 47: Commission on Human Rights
Title 48: Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH)
Title 49: Department of Records and Information Services
Title 50: Community Assistance Unit
Title 51: City Clerk
Title 52: Campaign Finance Board*
Title 53: Conflicts of Interest Board
Title 55: Department of Citywide Administrative Services
Title 56: Department of Parks and Recreation
Title 57: Art Commission
Title 58: Department of Cultural Affairs
Title 60: Civil Service Commission
Title 61: Office of Collective Bargaining
Title 62: City Planning
Title 63: Landmarks Preservation Commission
Title 66: Department of Small Business Services
Title 67: Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications
Title 68: Human Resources Administration
Title 69: Department of Aging
Title 70: In Rem Foreclosure Release Board
Title 71: Voter Assistance Commission
Title 72: Office of Emergency Management
Title 73: Civic Engagement Commission
Title 74: Community Hiring
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§ 19-137 Land contour work.
   a.   As used in this section.
      1.   The term "land contour work" means clearing, grubbing, grading, filling or excavating vacant lots and other land areas but does not include minor work which does not change surface drainage patterns.
      2.   The term "clearing" means removing surface encumbrances from a land area, including but not limited to fences, trees, logs, stumps, brush, stones, vegetation and earth.
      3.   The term "grubbing" means the removal of root systems incident to surface growths of trees and vegetation.
      4.   The term "grading" means leveling, sloping, raising, lowering or otherwise changing the existing surface of land area.
      5.   The term "excavation" means removal of material, regardless of its nature, from below the existing ground surface.
      6.   The term "filling" means the deposition, leveling or compacting of organic or inorganic material at or in a vacant lot or land area for a purpose relating to the composition, contour, use, or proposed use of the land or for the purpose of disposing of material removed from another lot or land area.
   b.   It shall be unlawful for any person to perform or cause, procure, suffer or permit to be performed any land contour work, except as provided in subdivision c hereof, without a written permit from the commissioner.
   c.   Subdivision b hereof shall not apply:
      1.   To land contour work performed in connection with or in the course of the erection of one or more buildings or other structures or in connection with land uses pursuant to a permit therefor issued by the department of buildings, provided however that, (a) such permit specifically authorizes such land contour work, and (b) such land contour work is performed entirely within the lot lines of the building site for which such permit is issued. In such cases where water courses, drainage ditches, conduits or other means of carrying off water exist on the property and are to be altered or relocated, the commissioner of buildings shall consult with the commissioner of environmental protection concerning the means of disposal of surface water prior to issuance of a permit.
      2.   to land contour work which consists only of making improvements to a land area on which a one or two-family house already exists and which does not result in any change in the surface runoff pattern of such land area.
      3.   To land contour work for which a stormwater construction permit issued by the department of environmental protection is required pursuant to subchapter 2 of chapter 5-A of title 24 of the administrative code.
   d.   No condition shall be created or maintained as the result of land contour work that will interfere with existing drainage unless a substitute therefor is provided which is satisfactory to the commissioner and the commissioner of environmental protection in accordance with criteria established by such commissioners in consultation with the department of health and mental hygiene. Watercourses, drainage ditches, conduits and other like or unlike means of carrying off water or disposing of surface water shall not be obstructed by refuse, waste, building materials, earth, stones, tree stumps, branches or by any other means that may interfere with surface drainage or cause the impoundment of surface waters either within or without the area on which contour work is performed. All excavations shall be drained and the drainage maintained as long as the excavation continues or remains. Where necessary, pumping shall be used. Fill material shall consist of inert, inorganic matter. It shall be unlawful to deposit garbage, waste paper, lumber or other organic material in land fill. The provisions of this section shall not prevent placement of organic matter for fill by the department of sanitation in locations under the jurisdiction of such department. The commissioner shall have the power, in consultation with the commissioner of buildings to adopt rules concerning the type of material that may be used for fill on land not mapped as park land. The commissioner shall enforce compliance with the provisions hereof, and shall make immediate complaint to the corporation counsel of any violation thereof. In addition, the commissioner of buildings shall similarly enforce compliance with the provisions hereof with respect to any land contour work performed pursuant to a permit issued by the commissioner of buildings, and in addition thereto shall inform the department of any failure to comply with a department of buildings violation order relating to the provisions hereof.
   e.   1.   Whenever the department shall determine that a condition has been created, or has resulted by reason of land contour work which violates any provision of subdivision (d) hereof, the department may serve an order in the manner prescribed in paragraph two of this subdivision upon the owners of the land upon which such condition has been created or has occurred, to correct such condition within the time designated in such order. Upon the owner's failure to comply with any order of the department as and within the time specified therein by such department, such department may perform such work or cause the same to be performed, the cost of which shall be due and payable and shall constitute a lien upon the land to which such order pertains, when the amount thereof shall have been finally computed by such department and an entry of the amount thereof shall have been entered in the office of the city collector in the book in which such charges against the premises are to be entered. A notice thereof, stating the amount due and the nature of the charge shall be mailed by the city collector, within five days after such entry, to the last known address of the person whose name appears on the records in the office of the city collector as being the owner or agent or as the person designated by the owner to receive tax bills, or where no name appears, to the premises addressed to either the owner or agent. If such charge is not paid within ninety days from the date of entry, it shall be the duty of the city collector to collect and receive interest thereon at the rate that would be applicable to a delinquent tax on such property, to be calculated to the date of payment from the date of entry. Such charge and the interest thereon shall continue to be, until paid, a lien on the premises on which such work was performed. Such charge and interest shall be collected and the lien thereon may be foreclosed in the manner provided by law for the collection and foreclosure of the lien of taxes, sewer rents, sewer surcharges and water rents due and payable to the city, and the provisions of law applicable to the collection and foreclosure of the lien of such taxes, sewer rents, surcharges and water rents shall apply to such charge. The provisions of section 11-307 of the code applicable to the payment of assessments shall also apply to charges heretofore or hereafter established pursuant to this section.
      2.   Service of an order upon an owner pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be made personally upon such owner or by certified mail addressed to the last known address of the person whose name appears upon the records in the office of the city collector as being the owner of the premises or as the agent of such owner or as the person designated by the owner to receive the tax bills or, if no such name appears, to the address set forth as the address of the owner in the last recorded deed with respect to such premises. A copy of such order shall also be filed in the clerk's office of each county where the property is situated and shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises.
(Am. L.L. 2017/097, 5/30/2017, eff. 6/1/2019)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/104.
§ 19-138 Injury to or defacement of streets.
   a.   Breaking or injuring. It shall be unlawful for any person to break or otherwise injure any street. There shall be no penalty for a violation of this section in case of an accidental breaking of or injury to a street which is repaired to the satisfaction of the commissioner, within forty-eight hours after such break or injury.
   b.   Defacing. Except as otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for any person to deface any street by painting, printing or writing thereon, or attaching thereto, in any manner, any advertisement or other printed matter.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/104.
§ 19-139 Excavations for private purposes.
Notice to public service corporations. The person by whom or for whose benefit any excavation is to be made in any street shall give notice thereof in writing, to any corporation whose pipes, mains or conduits are laid in the street about to be disturbed by such excavation, at least forty-eight hours before commencing the same; and shall, at his or her expense, sustain, secure and protect such pipes, mains or conduits from injury, and replace and pack the earth wherever the same shall have been removed, loosened or disturbed, under or around them, so that they shall be well and substantially supported. If any such person shall fail to sustain, secure and protect such pipes, mains or conduits from injury, or to replace and pack the earth under or around them, as the provisions of this section require, then the same may be done by the corporation to whom the same may belong, and the cost thereof, and all damages sustained by such corporation thereby shall be paid by such person, and, in default thereof, such corporation may maintain an action against him therefor.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/104.
§ 19-140 Duties of police.
All police officers shall be vigilant in the enforcement of the provisions of this subchapter and section 24-521 of the code and report, through proper channels, and violation thereof to the commissioner. Police officers, on observing or being informed of the opening of or excavating in any street, shall require the person making such opening or excavation to exhibit a permit therefor, and, if none has been given, or if the exhibition thereof be refused, the officer shall report the same to the commissioner.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/104.
§ 19-141 Property owners may voluntarily lay sidewalks.
Any owner of property, upon obtaining a permit from the commissioner, may lay a sidewalk in front of such owner's premises, of such material and in such a manner as may be prescribed by such commissioner. Heating pipes or electric cables for the purpose of melting snow and ice may be incorporated in the construction of sidewalks with the approval of the commissioner.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/104.
§ 19-142 Workers on excavations.
A person to whom a permit may be issued, to use or open a street, shall be required, before such permit may be issued, to agree that none but competent workers, skilled in the work required of them, shall be employed thereon, and that the prevailing scale of union wages shall be the prevailing wage for similar titles as established by the fiscal officer pursuant to section two hundred twenty of the labor law, paid to those so employed. No permit shall be issued until such agreement shall have been entered into with the department, and all such permits hereafter issued shall include therein a copy of this provision. When permits are issued to utility companies or their contractors, the power to enforce this provision shall be vested with the comptroller of the city of New York consistent with the provisions of section two hundred twenty of the labor law.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/104.
§ 19-143 Excavations for public works.
   a.   Notice to public service corporations. Whenever any street shall be regulated or graded, in which the pipes, mains or conduits of public service corporations are laid, the contractor therefor shall give notice thereof in writing to such corporations, at least forty-eight hours before breaking ground therefor. Such provision shall be included in every contract for regulating or grading any street in which the pipes, mains or conduits of public service corporations shall be laid at the time of making such contract.
   b.   Public service corporations shall protect their property. Public service corporations whose pipes, mains or conduits are about to be disturbed by the regulating or grading of any street, shall, on the receipt of the notice provided for in the preceding subdivision, remove or otherwise protect and replace their pipes, mains and conduits, and all fixtures and appliances connected therewith or attached thereto, where necessary, under the direction of the commissioner.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/104.
§ 19-144 Issuance of permit to open street within five years after completion of city capital construction project requiring resurfacing or reconstruction of such street.
   a.   All persons having or proposing to install facilities in, on or over any street shall be responsible for reviewing the city's capital budget, capital plan and capital commitment plan. Such persons shall make provision to do any work, except emergency work, which requires the opening or use of any street prior to or during the construction of any capital project requiring resurfacing or reconstruction proposed in such budget or plan for such street.
   b.   No permit to use or open any street, except for emergency work, shall be issued to any person within a five year period after the completion of the construction of a capital project set forth in such budget or plan relating to such street requiring resurfacing or reconstruction unless such person demonstrates that the need for the work could not have reasonably been anticipated prior to or during such construction.
   c.   Notwithstanding the provisions set forth in subdivisions a and b of this section, the commissioner may issue a permit to open a street within such five year period upon a finding of necessity therefor, subject to such conditions as the commissioner may establish by rule, which shall include appropriate guarantees against the deterioration of the restored pavement and may include restoration of pavement to the curb line on both sides of the restoration and parallel to the curb line for 20 feet on each side of such restoration. Such conditions shall include, but are not limited to, the following requirements:
      1.   All concrete-base roadways must be restored with concrete of the same depth and at least the same strength as the original base concrete;
      2.   All cuts made to the roadway must be straight-edged and any angles must measure 90 degrees;
      3.   Restoration of openings less than 10 feet apart must be restored as one continuous restoration; or
      4.   If the distance between the edge of the cut and the curb is less than 3 feet the restoration must extend to the curb.
(Am. L.L. 2018/068, 1/19/2018, eff. 1/19/2018)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/104.
§ 19-145 Pavements improperly relaid.
   a.   If any pavement which has been removed shall not be relaid to the satisfaction of the commissioner, he or she may cause an order to be served upon the person by whom such pavement was removed, or if such removal was for the purpose of making a connection between any house or lot, or for any sewer or pipes in the street, or for constructing vaults, or otherwise improving any house or lot, upon the owner or occupant of such house or lot, requiring such person, or the owner or occupant of such house or lot, to have such pavement properly relaid within five days after service of such order. Such order may be served upon the owner or occupant of a house or lot by leaving the same with any person of adult age upon the premises, or posting the same thereupon.
   b.   The cost of repaving such pavement shall be collected as follows:
      1.   The commissioner shall certify to the comptroller the cost of such work with a description of the lot or premises to improve which such removal was made.
      2.   The comptroller shall certify the cost of such work to the city collector, who shall collect the same in the same manner that arrears and water rates are collected.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/104.
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