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The mayor, upon the recommendation of the police commissioner, shall be authorized to offer and pay a reward in an amount not exceeding five hundred dollars to any person who provides information leading to the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of any person who may have violated the provisions of subdivision a or b of section 10-117 of this chapter, or who may have committed any other crime where the unlawful conduct included the conduct described in subdivision a or b of such section. No police officer, peace officer or any other law enforcement officer, and no officer, official or employee of the city of New York shall be entitled, directly or indirectly, to collect or receive any such reward.
a. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
1. "Graffiti" means any letter, word, name, number, symbol, slogan, message, drawing, picture, writing or other mark of any kind visible to the public from a public place that is drawn, painted, chiseled, scratched, or etched on a commercial building or residential building, or any portion thereof, including fencing, that is not consented to by the owner of the commercial building or residential building. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that such letter, word, name, number, symbol, slogan, message, drawing, picture, writing or other mark of any kind is not consented to by the owner. Such presumption may be rebutted by the owner informing the city that the owner consents to the marking and intends that it remain on the building.
2. "Commercial building" means any building that is used, or any building a portion of which is used, for buying, selling or otherwise providing goods or services, or for other lawful business, commercial, professional services or manufacturing activities.
3. "Residential building" means any building containing one or more dwelling units.
4. "Public place" means a place to which the public or a substantial group of persons has access including, but not limited to, any highway, street, road, sidewalk, parking area, plaza, shopping area, place of amusement, playground, park, beach or transportation facility.
b. Duty to keep property free of graffiti. The owner of every commercial building and residential building shall keep and cause to be kept such building free of all graffiti.
c. Availability of city funds; graffiti removal. Subject to the availability of annual appropriations, an agency or agencies designated by the mayor shall provide graffiti removal services to abate graffiti on commercial buildings and residential buildings without charge to the property owner. The owner of any commercial or residential building may request that such agency or agencies remove or conceal graffiti from such building through the city's graffiti removal services.
d. Notification to owner of nuisance. If the owner of a commercial or residential building is in violation of subdivision b of this section, the city shall notify the owner of such building that the building has been determined to be a nuisance and that, after thirty-five days from the date of such notice, or after fifty days from the date of such notice if such owner has requested an extension within the initial thirty-five day period, unless such owner abates the nuisance by removing or concealing the graffiti and notifies the city of such abatement or informs the city that the owner consents to the marking and intends that it remain on the building, the owner shall be deemed to have given permission to the city and/or its contractors or agents to enter or access the property and use the means it determines appropriate to abate the nuisance by removing or concealing the graffiti. Such permission shall not be deemed to include permission to enter any commercial or residential building.
e. Content of notice.
1. The notice that the property has been determined to be a nuisance as a result of graffiti on such property shall be provided (a) to the owner of a commercial or residential building by mailing a copy of such notice to the address of such building, if any, appearing in the latest assessment roll, (b) to the owner of record at the address provided by such owner to the commissioner of finance for communications from the commissioner of finance, and (c) if the address filed with the department of housing preservation and development in compliance with article two of subchapter four of chapter two of title twenty-seven of this code is different than the addresses described in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph, to the person registered with the department of housing preservation and development as the owner or agent of the premises, at the address filed with such department in compliance with article two of subchapter four of chapter two of title twenty-seven of this code.
2. Such written notice shall, at a minimum: (a) describe the city's graffiti removal services; (b) identify the property that has become a nuisance; (c) indicate that, if an owner, within thirty-five days of the date of such notice, or within fifty days of the date of such notice if such owner has requested an extension within the initial thirty-five day period, fails: (i) to abate the nuisance by removing or concealing the graffiti and to notify the city of such abatement, or (ii) to inform the city that the owner consents to the marking and intends that it remain on the building, the city and/or its contractors or agents may enter or access the property and use the means it determines appropriate to abate the nuisance by removing or concealing the graffiti; (d) indicate the method by which an owner may contact the city for the purpose of conveying any information or making any request in accordance with subdivision d of this section; and (e) provide a telephone number for the owner to call with any questions regarding the city's graffiti removal services.
f. Removal of graffiti by the city.
1. If an owner, within thirty-five days of the date of notice provided pursuant to subdivision d of this section, or within fifty days of the date of such notice if such owner has requested an extension within the initial thirty-five day period, fails to abate the nuisance by removing or concealing the graffiti and to notify the city of such abatement, or to inform the city that the owner consents to the marking and intends that it remain on the building, the city and/or its contractors or agents may enter or access the property and use the means it determines appropriate to abate the nuisance by removing or concealing the graffiti.
2. In no case shall the city be required to clean, paint, or repair any area more extensive than where the graffiti is located.
g. Express permission to enter building.
1. If, after entering or accessing the property pursuant to subdivision f of this section, the city has determined that it is necessary to enter a commercial or residential building in order to provide graffiti removal services, it shall request the express permission of the owner of such building to enter such building for the purpose of providing graffiti removal services. In making such request, the city shall notify the owner of such building that it has determined that it is necessary to enter the building in order to provide graffiti removal services, and that the owner may either
(a) grant permission for the city and/or its contractors or agents to enter such building for the purpose of providing graffiti removal services;
(b) abate the nuisance by removing or concealing the graffiti and notify the city of such abatement;
(c) inform the city that the owner consents to the marking and intends that it remain on the building. Such request shall indicate the method by which an owner may contact the city for the purpose of conveying any information or making any request in accordance with this section.
2. The failure of the owner to comply with subparagraph (a), (b) or (c) of paragraph one of this subdivision within thirty-five days of the date of such request, or within fifty days of the date of such request if such owner has requested an extension within the initial thirty-five day period, shall result in the issuance of a notice of violation pursuant to subdivision h of this section.
3. For purposes of this subdivision, "owner" shall mean the person registered with the department of housing preservation and development pursuant to article two of subchapter four of chapter two of title twenty-seven of this code as the owner or agent of the premises or the owner identified in records maintained by the commissioner of finance for communications from the commissioner of finance.
h. Notice of violation.
1. Notwithstanding any provision in this section to the contrary, where the city has determined that it is unable to provide graffiti removal services to a particular property, or to a specific location on the property, an agency or agencies designated by the mayor shall serve a notice of violation, in the manner prescribed in paragraph two of subdivision d of section 1049-a of the charter, on the owner of the property. Such notice shall indicate that the owner is in violation of subdivision b of this section and that the failure to remove or conceal the graffiti within sixty days of receipt of the notice or to consent to the marking shall result in the imposition of a penalty as set forth in subdivision i of this section.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph one of this subdivision, a residential building containing fewer than six dwelling units shall not be issued a notice of violation pursuant to this subdivision.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph one of this subdivision, a residential building containing six or more dwelling units or a commercial building shall not be issued a notice of violation pursuant to this subdivision more than once in any sixty-day period.
4. Notwithstanding paragraph one of this subdivision, a commercial or residential building whose owner has granted permission for the city and/or its contractors or agents pursuant to subdivision g of this section to enter such building for the purpose of providing graffiti removal services shall not be issued a notice of violation pursuant to this subdivision.
i. Penalty for failure to remove graffiti from commercial and residential buildings. The owner of a commercial or residential building who has been given written notice pursuant to subdivision h of this section and who fails to remove or conceal such graffiti within sixty days of receipt of such notice or to consent to the marking shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than one hundred fifty dollars nor more than three hundred dollars. Such civil penalty may be recovered in a proceeding before the environmental control board.
j. Rulemaking. The agency or agencies designated by the mayor to provide graffiti removal services shall have the authority to promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this section.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2005/111 and L.L. 2008/035.
(a) No person other than the owner of a building or structure, the duly authorized agent of such owner, or an appropriate legal authority shall destroy or remove any part of such building or structure.
(b) No person shall transport through, along or across a public street or way used materials or parts of buildings or structures, including but not limited to, piping, heating equipment, wiring, or other fixtures, windows or parts thereof, doors, radiators, bricks, wood beams or other parts, unless such person shall possess a bill of sale or other proper proof of ownership or right to possession of same signed by the owner of the building or structure, or one authorized by an appropriate legal authority.
(c) No dealer in junk or used materials shall purchase used materials or parts of buildings or structures, including but not limited to, piping, heating equipment, wiring, or other fixtures, windows or parts thereof, doors, radiators, bricks, wood beams or other parts, unless such dealer shall obtain at the time of purchase a bill of sale or other proper proof of ownership or right of possession of same signed by the owner of the building or structure from which said materials were taken, or by the duly authorized agent of such owner or by an appropriate legal authority.
(d) Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not more than five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than three months, or both.
a. Except as provided in subdivision d of this section, no person shall remove, or transport through, along or across a public street, any manhole cover, including but not limited to the cover of an opening in the ground, street or sidewalk used by a public utility or authority to access underground vaults, structures, installations, or other enclosed space; or the cover of such an opening that is part of a sewer system, fuel storage system, or water supply system.
b. Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than two thousand five hundred dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars. A notice of violation issued pursuant to this section shall be returnable to the environmental control board, which shall have the power to impose such civil penalty.
c. In addition to the civil penalties set forth in subdivision b of this section, any person who knowingly violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding thirty days, or both for each violation.
d. The prohibition in this section shall not apply to the owner of such cover, the duly authorized agent of such owner, or an appropriate legal authority.
a. It shall be unlawful for any person to paste, post, paint, print, nail or attach or affix by any means whatsoever any handbill, poster, notice, sign, advertisement, sticker or other printed material upon any curb, gutter, flagstone, tree, lamppost, awning post, telegraph pole, telephone pole, public utility pole, public garbage bin, bus shelter, bridge, elevated train structure, highway fence, barrel, box, parking meter, mail box, traffic control device, traffic stanchion, traffic sign (including pole), tree box, tree pit protection device, bench, traffic barrier, hydrant, public pay telephone, city-owned grassy area adjacent to a street, any personal property maintained on a street or other city-owned property pursuant to a franchise, concession or revocable consent granted by the city or other such item or structure in any street, or to direct, suffer or permit any servant, agent, employee or other person under his or her control to engage in such activity; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to any handbill, poster, notice, sign, advertisement, sticker or other printed material so posted by or under the direction of the council, or by or under the direction of any city agency, or pursuant to a franchise, concession or revocable consent granted pursuant to chapter fourteen of the charter.
b. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the person whose name, telephone number, or other identifying information appears on any handbill, poster, notice, sign, advertisement, sticker or other printed material on any item or structure described in subdivision a of this section in any street violated this section by either (i) pasting, posting, painting, printing, nailing or attaching or affixing by any means whatsoever such handbill, poster, notice, sign, advertisement, sticker or other printed material, or (ii) directing, suffering or permitting a servant, agent, employee or other individual under such person's control to engage in such activity.
c. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that if a telephone number that appears on any handbill, poster, notice, sign or advertisement placed in violation of subdivision a of this section belongs to a telephone answering service and no other telephone number or address is readily obtainable to locate the person or business advertised therein, such telephone answering service shall be held liable for a violation of subdivision a in accordance with the provisions of section 10-121.
d. The commissioner of the department of sanitation shall be authorized to issue subpoenas to obtain official telephone records for the purpose of determining the identity and location of any person or entity reasonably believed by the commissioner to have violated subdivision a of this section.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1995/068.
It shall be unlawful for any person to tear down, deface or destroy any notice, handbill, sign, advertisement, poster, sticker or other printed material, put up or posted by, or under the direction of the council, or by or under the direction of any city agency or pursuant to a franchise, concession or revocable consent granted pursuant to chapter fourteen of the charter.
a. Any person convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of section 10-119 or 10-120 of the code shall be punished by a fine of not less than seventy-five dollars nor more than one hundred fifty dollars, for the first offense and not less than one hundred fifty dollars nor more than two hundred fifty dollars for the second and each subsequent offense within a twelve month period, plus the cost of the removal of the unauthorized signs, imprisonment for not more than ten days, or both; provided, however, that subdivision b of section 10-119 of the code shall not apply with respect to criminal prosecutions brought pursuant to this subdivision.
b. In the instance where the notice of violation, appearance ticket or summons is issued for breach of the provisions of section 10-119 of the code and sets forth thereon civil penalties only, such process shall be returnable to the environmental control board, which shall have the power to impose the civil penalties of seventy five dollars for the first offense and one hundred fifty dollars for the second and each subsequent offense within a twelve month period. Anyone found to have violated the provisions of section 10-119, in addition to any penalty imposed, shall be responsible for the cost of the removal of the unauthorized signs. Anyone found to have violated section 10-119 of this chapter by affixing any handbill, poster, notice, sign or advertisement to a tree by means of nailing or piercing the tree by any method shall have an additional penalty imposed equal to the amount of the original penalty.
c. In the instance where the notice of violation, appearance ticket or summons is issued for breach of the provisions of section 10-120 of the code and sets forth thereon civil penalties only, such process shall be returnable to the environmental control board, which shall have the power to impose a civil penalty of not less than seventy five dollars nor more than one hundred fifty dollars for the first offense and not less than one hundred fifty dollars nor more than two hundred fifty dollars for the second and each subsequent offense within a twelve month period. Anyone found to have violated the provisions of section 10-120, in addition to any penalty imposed, shall be responsible for the cost of the removal of the signs that were torn down, defaced or destroyed.
d. In the event that a violator fails to answer such notice of violation, appearance ticket or summons within the time provided therefor by the rules and regulations of the environmental control board, he or she shall become liable for additional penalties. The additional penalties shall not exceed fifty dollars for each violation.
f. Liability and responsibility for any civil penalty imposed pursuant to this section for any violation of section 10-119 or 10-120 of the code shall be joint and severable on the part of any corporation found to be liable and responsible and its officers, principals, and stockholders owning more than ten percent of its outstanding voting stock.
g. For the purposes of imposing a criminal fine or civil penalty pursuant to this section, every handbill, poster, notice, sign or advertisement pasted, posted, painted, printed or nailed in violation of section 10-119 of the code or torn down, defaced or destroyed in violation of section 10-120 of the code, shall be deemed to be the subject of a separate violation for which a separate criminal fine or civil penalty shall be imposed.
(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.
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