§ 20-587 Sale by true weight or measure required.

It shall be unlawful to sell or offer for sale any commodity or article of merchandise, at or for a greater weight or measure than the true weight or measure thereof; for the purposes of this section the true weight of frozen poultry, shall be the net weight thereof exclusive of any food product or substance added or combined therewith; and all such commodities and articles of merchandise shall be weighed or measured by duly tested devices, sealed and marked by the commissioner or an inspector of the bureau; provided, that vegetables may be sold by the head or bunch.

§ 20-588 Confiscation of false weights or measures.

Any weight which upon being tested is found to be short a quarter of an ounce or more; or any scale of a capacity greater than four hundred pounds, which upon being tested, is found to be short in weight by a quarter of a pound or more; or any scale of a capacity of between two hundred forty and four hundred pounds, which upon being tested is found to be short two ounces or more; or any scale of a capacity greater than four hundred pounds, which upon being tested, is found to be short five ounces or more; or any scale which is in an unfit condition to be used by being worn out, badly rusted, or by any other cause; or any measure or utensil being used in the sale or purchase of any commodity or article of merchandise, which does not conform to the standards provided by article sixteen of the agriculture and markets law, may be summarily confiscated and destroyed by the commissioner or an inspector of the bureau.

§ 20-589 Alteration of tested appliances.

It shall be unlawful to render inaccurate, any device, to be used in weighing or measuring any commodity or article of merchandise, after such device has been tested, sealed and marked by the commissioner or an inspector of the bureau.

§ 20-590 Repair of inaccurate appliances.

Within five days after the condemnation of a weighing or measuring device, the owner thereof, at his or her own expense, shall cause the same to be conformed to the standards established by article sixteen of the agriculture and markets law, and within twenty-four hours thereof, shall cause notice, in writing, of such alteration to be mailed or served personally upon such bureau. The seal upon any such device shall remain affixed and unbroken unless removed pursuant to section one hundred eighty-three of the agriculture and markets law.

§ 20-591 Interference with inspectors.

It shall be unlawful for any person to obstruct, hinder or molest the commissioner or any inspector of the bureau in the performance of his or her duties.

§ 20-592 Violations; report of.

The commissioner shall report forthwith to the corporation counsel the names and places of business of all persons violating the provisions of this chapter, and of all persons making use of any fraudulent or unsealed weighing or measuring devices.

§ 20-593 Punishment.

Any person who shall violate any of the foregoing provisions for the regulation of weights and measures or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder shall forfeit and pay a penalty of fifty dollars for the first violation, seventy-five dollars for the second violation and one hundred dollars for the third and any subsequent violation; except that a person shall be subject to a civil penalty of zero dollars for a first-time violation of section 20-595 of this subchapter or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, if such person proves to the satisfaction of the department, within thirty days of the issuance of the notice of violation and prior to the commencement of an adjudication of the violation, that the violation has been cured. The submission of proof of a cure, if accepted by the department as proof that the violation has been cured, shall be deemed an admission of liability for all purposes. The option of presenting proof that the violation has been cured shall be offered as part of any settlement offer made by the department to a person who has received, for the first time, a notice of violation of section 20-595 of this subchapter or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder. The department shall permit such proof to be submitted electronically or in person. A person may seek review, in the department's administrative tribunal, of the determination that the person has not submitted proof of a cure within fifteen days of receiving written notification of such determination.

(Am. L.L. 2021/080, 7/18/2021, eff. 11/15/2021)

Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2021/080.

§ 20-594 Violations.

Any person violating any of the provisions of sections 20-583 through 20-593 of this chapter, shall be guilty of an offense triable by a judge of the New York city criminal court, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined the sum of not less than twenty-five dollars and not more than two hundred fifty dollars for each offense, or by imprisonment not exceeding ten days, or by both.