(a) Applicants must be licensed to engage in the business of towing by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs. Applicants who apply to be in the Evidence Vehicle program on or after March 1, 1993 must be licensed to engage in the business of towing for a period of not less than one year immediately prior to the date of their application. In addition, all of the tow truck operators employed by the licensee must be licensed as such by the Department and comply with all applicable laws and rules.
(b) Applicants can only make application to participate in one primary zone and one geographic adjacent zone. The applicant's business premises must be located within the primary zone. Such premises shall be under the exclusive control of the applicant, shall not be used by any other towing company and shall consist of a location that is open to the public, where towing company personnel are employed, calls requesting towing service are received and towers are dispatched, and where all records required by Subchapter 31 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the New York City Administrative Code are maintained.
(c) Applications for the Evidence Vehicle program will be accepted by the Department on an ongoing basis. Upon approval, new participants will initially be placed at the bottom of the rotation list for the zone for which they have been accepted.
(d) In the event that a sufficient number of qualified, licensed companies do not make application for participation in a particular zone, the Commissioner may modify the proposed zones and assign qualified companies to such zones.
(e) Applicants for Evidence Vehicle must be willing and able to provide towing services, in the primary and adjacent zone for which they have applied to participate, minimally on a five day, twenty-four hour a day basis.
(f) Applicants for Evidence Vehicle must immediately respond to a rotation call they accept. To be eligible to participate in a particular zone, an applicant must be able to provide a tow truck at the vehicle's location within thirty minutes after notification by the Police Department. If no Evidence Vehicle participant is available in the zone where the vehicle is located, the Police Department may call an Evidence Vehicle participant in the adjacent zone.
(g) Applicants must have a minimum of two (2) tow trucks for the zone for which they have applied to participate.
(h) Applicants must own or possess and have at their immediate disposal equipment to tow vehicles with damaged or missing wheels.
(i) Participants may withdraw from the Evidence Vehicle program thirty days after they have notified the Department, in writing, by regular mail, of their intention to end their participation.
(j) [Reserved.]
(k) Repeated failure by a participant to meet the thirty minute requirement may be a basis for suspension or removal from participation in the Evidence Vehicle Program. Repeated unjustifiable refusal to accept rotational calls will also be a basis for suspension or removal from participation in the Evidence Vehicle Program.
(l) Participants must abide by the Police Department's written orders, which establish the operating procedures for this program.
(m) Participants must abide by all lawful instructions, directions and requests of the police official in charge of the scene, incident, or location to which it or its representatives respond.
(n) Participants must record in a bound record book all calls for service, all occasions when towing service was rendered and the reason for refusal of any call to which they were unable to respond. The inside cover of the book kept for this purpose shall contain the Evidence Vehicle towing company's business name, premises address, towing zone number(s) and the dates the book covers. Each double page shall be consecutively numbered and must contain the following information:
Date and time Police Department call was received
Caller: rank, name
Precinct voucher number
Precinct
Name of person who accepted call
Disposition: Accepted/refused
Reason for refusal
Location vehicle towed from
Storage location vehicle towed to
Time tow was completed
Total Charges
(o) The following schedule of rates shall apply for vehicles towed under the Evidence Vehicle Towing Program:
$60.00 flat rate transfer fee for vehicles towed to the Police Department facility, plus tolls, when applicable.
An additional charge of $60.00 may be charged for unusual recoveries requiring two tow trucks. Written authorization of the investigating police officer is required in the "Remarks" section of the invoice to substantiate the need for a second tow truck in unusual recovery circumstances.
(p) After due notice and opportunity to be heard, the Commissioner may disqualify any towing company participating in the Evidence Vehicle program from continued participation in such program for violation of any of the provisions of § 20-519 of the New York City Administrative Code or any rule promulgated thereunder or upon the occurrence of any one or more of the conditions set forth in Subchapter 31 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the New York City Administrative Code which constitute grounds for suspension or revocation of any license issued under such subchapter; provided, however, that the Commissioner, for good cause, may, prior to giving notice and an opportunity to be heard, temporarily suspend a towing company from participation in the Evidence Vehicle program for up to ten days. Notice of such suspension shall be served on the towing company. The Commissioner shall provide the towing company with the opportunity for a hearing within ten days after the notification of suspension, after which the Commissioner shall forthwith make a determination as to whether such suspension should continue and the length of such suspension, and in addition may impose any penalty or sanction authorized by Subchapter 31 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the New York City Administrative Code.
(q) Participants shall take reasonable care to prevent damage to or loss of a customer's vehicle or personal property contained therein.