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a. Definitions. For the purposes of this section:
(1) The term "public highway" means any highway, road, street, roadway, sidewalk, avenue, alley, public place, public driveway or any other public way.
(2) The term "scooter" means a device propelled by muscular power, consisting of a footboard between end wheels and an upright handle attached to a front wheel or to the footboard.
(3) The term "wearing a helmet" means having a helmet of good fit fastened securely upon the head with the helmet straps.
b. This section is applicable to the operation of a scooter upon any public highway or any private road open to public motor vehicle traffic, and within a park or other area under the jurisdiction of the commissioner of parks and recreation.
c. No person less than fourteen years of age shall operate a scooter unless such person is wearing a helmet meeting the standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z 90.4 bicycle helmet standards), the Snell Memorial Foundation's standards for protective headgear for use in bicycling, the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for bicycle helmets, the Safety Equipment Institute standards for bicycle helmets, or the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission standards for bicycle helmets.
d. It is a traffic infraction to violate the provisions of this section punishable, upon conviction, by a civil penalty of not more than fifty dollars. Such traffic infractions shall be heard and determined in accordance with article 2-A of the vehicle and traffic law. A hearing officer shall waive the civil penalty for which the parent or guardian of a person who violates the provisions of this section would be liable if such parent or guardian supplies proof that between the date of violation and the appearance date for such violation such parent or guardian purchased or rented a helmet that meets the requirements of this section. A hearing officer may waive the civil penalty for which the parent or guardian of a person who violates the provisions of this section would be liable if he or she finds that due to reasons of economic hardship such parent or guardian was unable to purchase or rent a helmet. A waiver of the civil penalty shall not apply to a second or subsequent conviction under this section.
e. The parent or guardian of a person less than fourteen years of age shall be liable for a violation of this section by such person less than fourteen years of age. A summons for a violation of this section by a person less than fourteen years of age shall only be issued to the parent or guardian of such person if the violation occurs in the presence of such parent or guardian and where such parent or guardian is eighteen years of age or more. Such summons shall only be issued to such parent or guardian and shall not be issued to the person less than fourteen years of age.
f. The failure of any person to comply with the provisions of this section shall not constitute contributory negligence or assumption of risk, and shall not in any way bar, preclude or foreclose an action for personal injury or wrongful death by or on behalf of such person, nor in any way diminish or reduce the damages recoverable in any such action.
g. The department of health and mental hygiene shall distribute informational materials through the department's school health program, which shall include information explaining the hazards of operating scooters without protective headgear. These informational materials shall be printed in multiple languages and shall be made available to any member of the public upon request.
h. The police department and the department of parks and recreation shall enforce the provisions of this section.
a. Definitions. For purposes of this section:
1. "Motorized pedicab" shall mean a wheeled device that is designed and constructed to transport or carry passengers, that is propelled in whole or in part by other than human power, and that is operated to transport passengers for hire.
2. "Multi-passenger wheeled device" shall mean a wheeled device with three or more wheels that is designed and constructed to permit seating by more than two people, that is propelled by human power, and that is designed to permit propulsion by more than two individuals simultaneously.
3. "Owner" shall mean any person who possesses with good legal title, or possesses under a lease, reserve title contract, conditional sales agreement or vendor's agreement or similar agreement one or more motorized pedicabs or multi-passenger wheeled devices in the city of New York.
4. "Tandem bicycle" shall mean a wheeled device that is constructed so that its wheels are aligned in a straight line, one behind the other, permitting operation by two or more people.
b. It shall be unlawful to operate, or cause to be operated, any motorized pedicab or multi-passenger wheeled device, other than a tandem bicycle, on any street, sidewalk, highway, bridge, tunnel or park within New York City.
c. Any person who violates subdivision b of this section may be issued a notice of violation and shall be subject to a civil penalty that shall not be: (1) less than two hundred nor more than five hundred dollars for the first violation; (2) less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars for the second violation committed within a one year period; (3) less than one thousand nor more than four thousand dollars for the third violation committed within a one year period. Such penalty may be recovered in a proceeding before the environmental control board.
d. A person who violates subdivision b of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than two hundred fifty dollars or imprisonment of up to sixteen days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
e. Where a police or peace officer or an authorized employee of a department designated by the commissioner serves a summons or notice of violation for violation of this section on a person operating a multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab, such multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab may be seized. Any device seized pursuant to this subdivision shall be delivered into the custody of the police department. The environmental control board shall hold a hearing to adjudicate the violation of subdivision b of this section on an expedited schedule and shall render its determination accordingly.
f. The owner of a multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab seized pursuant to subdivision e of this section shall be eligible to obtain release of such device prior to the hearing provided for in such subdivision, if such owner has not been found liable for a violation of subdivision b of this section within a five year period prior to the violation resulting in seizure. The multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab shall be released to such owner upon the posting of an all cash bond in a form satisfactory to the commissioner in an amount satisfactory to cover the maximum civil penalties which may be imposed for a violation of subdivision b of this section and all reasonable costs for removal and storage of such device.
g. Where the environmental control board finds that there was no violation of subdivision b of this section, the owner shall be entitled forthwith to possession of the multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab without charge or to the extent that any amount has been previously paid for release of the device, such amount shall be refunded.
h. Where the board, after adjudication of the violation of subdivision b of this section, finds a violation of such subdivision, then (i) if the multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab is not subject to forfeiture pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision j, the police department shall release such device to its owner upon payment of all applicable civil penalties and all reasonable costs of removal and storage; or (ii) if the multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab is subject to forfeiture pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision j of this section, the police department may release such device to its owner upon payment of all civil penalties and all reasonable costs of removal and storage, or may commence a forfeiture action within ten days after the written demand by such owner for such device.
i. The department shall establish by rule the time within which multi-passenger wheeled devices or motorized pedicabs that are not redeemed may be deemed abandoned and the procedures for disposal.
j. 1. In addition to any other penalty or sanction provided for in this section, a multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab seized pursuant to subdivision e of this section, and all rights, title and interest therein shall be subject to forfeiture to the city upon notice and judicial determination thereof if the owner of such multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab has been found liable at least two times within a five-year period for violation of subdivision b of this section.
2. A forfeiture action pursuant to this subdivision shall be commenced by the filing of a summons with a notice or a summons and complaint in accordance with the civil practice law and rules. Such summons with notice or a summons and complaint shall be served in accordance with the civil practice law and rules on the owner of such multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab. A multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab which is the subject of such action shall remain in the custody of the police department or other appropriate agency pending the final determination of the forfeiture action.
3. Any person who receives notice of the institution of a forfeiture action who claims an interest in the multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab subject to forfeiture may assert a claim in such action for the recovery of such device or satisfaction of such owner's interest in such device.
4. Forfeiture pursuant to this subdivision shall be made subject to the interest of a person who claims an interest in such device pursuant to subdivision three of this subdivision, where such person establishes that: (i) such multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab was operated in violation of this section without the knowledge of such person, or if such person had knowledge of such operation, that such person did not consent to such operation by doing all that could reasonably have been done to prevent such operation, or (ii) that the operation of such multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab in violation of this section was conducted by any person other than such person claiming an interest in the device, while such device was unlawfully in the possession of a person who acquired possession thereof in violation of the criminal laws of the United States or any state.
5. The police department, after judicial determination of forfeiture, shall, by public notice of at least five days, sell such forfeited multi-passenger wheeled device or motorized pedicab at public sale. The net proceeds of any such sale shall be paid into the general fund of the city.
6. In any forfeiture action commenced pursuant to this subdivision, where the court awards a sum of money to one or more persons in satisfaction of such person's interest in the forfeited device, the total amount awarded to satisfy such interest or interests shall not exceed the amount of the net proceeds of the sale of the forfeited device after deduction of the lawful expenses incurred by the city, including reasonable costs of removal and storage of the device between the time of the seizure and the date of sale.
k. The penalties provided by subdivisions c, d, e and j of this section shall be in addition to any other penalty imposed by any other provision of law or rule promulgated thereunder.
a. For the purposes of this section, the term "pedicab" shall mean a bicycle as defined in the vehicle and traffic law or other device that is designed and constructed to transport or carry passengers, that is solely propelled by human power, and that is operated to transport passengers for hire.
b. It is a violation for a person to park, stand, or stop a pedicab where a person is prohibited from parking, standing or stopping a vehicle pursuant to the rules of the city of New York promulgated by the commissioner. Notices of parking violations for pedicabs that park, stand or stop in violation of such rules shall be returnable to the parking violations bureau.
c. Any person who violates this section shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount described in the schedule of fines promulgated by the department of finance applicable to parking violations for vehicles.
a. It shall be unlawful for any private street or thoroughfare to bear a name similar to a street or thoroughfare officially named.
b. Any person convicted of a violation of the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten dollars, imprisonment for not more than ten days, or both.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/104.
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