L.L. 1989/010

Enactment date: 2/23/1989

Int. No. 1140-A

By the Vice Chairman (Council Member Vallone) and Council Members DeMarco, Crispino, Berman, Spigner, Dryfoos, Greitzer, O'Donovan and Molinari; also Council Members Alter, Castaneira-Colon, Dear, DiBrienza, Eisland, Foster, Gerges, Harrison, Lisa, McCaffrey, Michels, Pinkett, Povman, Robles, Ward and Williams

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to imposing a civil penalty for the sale or possession of certain controlled substances.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section one. Declaration of legislative intent and findings. The Council finds that narcotics trafficking and other drug-related crimes have deeply infected every aspect of life in the city of New York. The number of street crimes, robberies, burglaries and indiscriminate acts of violence against strangers and family members, including many disturbing incidents of child abuse or fatalities attributable to drug-induced violence, has increased dramatically over the last few years. No one is immune to the plague of drugs. Easy access to controlled substances threatens both to destroy our youth and to cut down adults in their prime, ruining families, careers, and institutions. Narcotics-related crimes have overwhelmed the criminal justice and corrections systems and impaired the city's ability to ensure the safety, security and well-being of residents and visitors. The continued and growing need for additional police, prosecutors, judges, corrections officers, parole and probation officers, and adequate jail and correction facilities caused by the scourge of drugs, is rapidly draining the city treasury and depleting resources the city needs in order to deliver basic services to its citizens.

Accordingly, the Council concludes that those who traffic in narcotics should be held accountable for the severe consequences of their illegal conduct by paying significant civil penalties to the city. In this manner, the responsibility for this extraordinary drain on the city's limited resources can be placed on the individuals and entities immediately responsible for the mounting health, welfare, and social services costs in our neighborhoods and communities. The shift of this financial burden to illicit drug dealers will increase the costs and risks associated with drug trafficking and help to fund the City's efforts to combat it.

This legislation is intended to be a tool in the continuing fight against narcotics trafficking and an additional deterrent by giving the city an opportunity to collect a civil penalty and the cost of both the civil and criminal prosecutions in appropriate cases. The Council recognizes that in those cases where the defendant will have no collectible assets, the pursuit of a civil judgment would be an inefficient use of the city's limited resources. Accordingly, the Council, in adopting this legislation, intends that the corporation counsel commence a civil action in cases where he or she has been notified by an appropriate law enforcement agency that there is reason to believe that a defendant will have substantial assets that are capable of collection. One factor to be considered in determining whether a defendant has collectible assets for the purposes of this legislation is whether he or she was represented by a Legal Aid attorney or an attorney appointed pursuant to the provisions of article 18-B of the County Law in the underlying criminal prosecution, it being recognized by the Council that legal representation by a court-appointed attorney is a strong indication that such person does not have sufficient assets to warrant a civil prosecution under this section. The Council is mindful that the prosecution of civil actions pursuant to this legislation could strain the resources of the corporation counsel and accordingly envisions that he or she may enter into contract with a private firm to pursue the penalties provided herein.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. This local law shall take effect immediately.