NY Gen Bus L § 35-A (2021)
2021 New York Laws GBS - General Business Article 4 - Peddlers 35-A - Veterans of the Armed Forces Who Vend in Cities Having a Population of One Million or More.

§  35-a.  Veterans  of  the  armed  forces who vend in cities having a population of one million or more.  Subject to the  provisions  of  this section  but notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of any general, special or local law:   1. (a) In cities having a population  of  one  million  or  more,  the official designated by a local law or ordinance to issue a local license to  hawk,  peddle,  vend and sell goods, wares or merchandise or solicit trade upon the  streets  and  highways  within  such  city  shall  issue specialized  vending  licenses  to  members  of  the armed forces of the United States who (i) were honorably discharged from  such  service,  or (ii)  have  a  qualifying condition, as defined in section three hundred fifty of the executive law, and received  a  discharge  other  than  bad conduct  or  dishonorable  from  such service, or (iii) are a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section three hundred fifty of the executive law, and received a discharge other than  bad  conduct  or  dishonorable from  such  service,  and  who  are  physically  disabled as a result of injuries received while in the service of said armed forces and who  are eligible to hold licenses granted pursuant to section thirty-two of this article.    Such  specialized  vending  licenses shall authorize holders thereof to hawk or peddle  within  such  city  in  accordance  with  the provisions  contained  in  this  section.  Specialized  vending licenses issued under this section shall permit the holders thereof  to  vend  on any  block  face, and no licensee authorized under this section shall be restricted in any way from vending in any area, except  as  provided  in this section.  (b)  The  official  in  such  city responsible for issuing specialized vending  licenses  shall  set  forth  by  rule  procedures  for  issuing specialized  vending licenses pursuant to this section; such rules shall establish a priority system, based upon  the  date  of  application  for specialized  vending licenses issued pursuant to this section, provided, however, that any disabled veteran vendor holding a specialized  vending license  issued  in  such city prior to March first, two thousand three, shall be accorded a priority based upon the date  of  issuance  of  such specialized vending license.   2.  In  areas where general vending is authorized, outside of the area specified in subdivision seven of this section, all specialized  vending license  holders, including those vendors authorized to vend in the area specified in subdivision seven of this  section,  shall  be  subject  to those  restrictions  on  the placement of vehicles, pushcarts and stands contained in any local law, ordinance, by-law, rule or regulation  of  a city having a population of one million or more, to the extent that such restrictions  are  not  inconsistent  with  the  provisions contained in subdivisions four, five, six and eight of this section.   3. Specialized vending licenses issued pursuant to this section  shall authorize  the  holders thereof to vend on block faces, outside the area specified in subdivision seven of this section, on the days and  at  the times  when  other vending businesses have been prohibited on such block faces pursuant to any local law, ordinance, by-law, rule or  regulation. Not more than two such specialized vending licensees shall be authorized pursuant to this subdivision per restricted block face, provided that no restriction  shall  apply  to  such licensees when vending on such block faces except as provided in paragraphs (e), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k)  and (l)  of  subdivision  seven  of  this  section;  and provided further no specialized vending licensee shall vend  on  any  sidewalk  unless  such sidewalk  has  at  least  a  ten-foot  wide  clear pedestrian path to be measured from the boundary of any private property to  any  obstructions in  or  on  the  sidewalk, or if there are no obstructions, to the curb. Where three or more specialized vending license holders attempt to  vend  simultaneously  on  the  same  block  face,  the two specialized vending license holders with the higher priority,  as  established  pursuant  to paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  one  of  this  section,  shall have the exclusive  right  to  vend on such block face, and any other specialized vending license holder vending on such block face shall be deemed to  be vending without first having obtained a license.   4. Where exigent circumstances exist, a police officer of the city may order  a  specialized  vending license holder to temporarily move from a location; for purposes  of  this  subdivision,  "exigent  circumstances" shall  mean  an  immediate threat to public safety caused by unusual and severe pedestrian  congestion  due  to  an  impediment  other  than  the specialized  vending  license  holder,  or by an accident, fire, parade, demonstration or other emergency  situation.  Nothing  herein  shall  be construed  to  limit  such  city's  authority  to  place restrictions on vending in order to protect national security.   5. Specialized vending licenses to vend  shall  be  accompanied  by  a photographic color coded identification which shall include the priority number  established pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this section, and shall be displayed  by  such  specialized  vending  license holder.   6.  Specialized  vending licenses to vend shall not be loaned, leased, subcontracted or otherwise transferred except:  (a) Upon the death of the disabled veteran who held the  license,  the license shall be transferred by operation of law to the surviving spouse or,  if  there is no surviving spouse or the surviving spouse elects not to use the license, to the guardian of a minor child or children who may use the license for the support of the  minor  child  or  children.  The license  shall  revert to the licensing agency for reassignment upon the death of the surviving spouse, if the surviving spouse  remarries,  when the  youngest  minor  child  reaches  age  eighteen,  or when either the surviving spouse or guardian of the minor child or children  elects  not to  use  the license to vend in the city of New York or abandons the use of the license. Temporary periods when the spouse  or  guardian  do  not vend  shall  not  cause the license to revert to the licensing agency in the absence of other evidence of an intent to abandon  the  use  of  the license;  a  period  of  six  months  or more in which the holder of the license does not vend shall create a  rebuttable  presumption  that  the spouse or guardian has abandoned the use of the license; and  (b)  If  the  veteran  who  holds  the  license  becomes  totally  and permanently disabled, the holder of the license may transfer it  to  the holder's  spouse  or, if the veteran has no spouse, to an adult child if the child assumes the duty to support the  veteran.  The  license  shall revert  to  the  licensing  agency  when:  (1)  the veteran who held the license immediately before the transfer dies; (2)  the  spouse  dies  or divorces  the  veteran  who  held  the  license  immediately  before the transfer; or (3) the child to whom the license is  transferred  dies  or renounces  the  obligation  to  support the veteran who held the license immediately before the transfer.   7. In the borough of Manhattan in the city of New  York  in  the  area bounded  on the east by Second avenue, on the south by Thirtieth street, on the west by Ninth avenue and Columbus avenue  and  on  the  north  by Sixty-fifth  street,  the following additional provisions shall apply to the issuance of specialized vending licenses to disabled veteran vendors pursuant to this section:  (a) such specialized vending license holders shall be prohibited  from vending  on  Second avenue, Third avenue, Lexington avenue, Park avenue, Vanderbilt avenue, Madison avenue, Fifth avenue, Sixth  avenue,  Seventh avenue,   Broadway,  Eighth  avenue,  Amsterdam  avenue,  Ninth  avenue,  Columbus avenue,  Thirty-fourth  street  between  Lexington  avenue  and Seventh  avenue, Forty-second street between Lexington avenue and Eighth avenue, Forty-ninth street between Lexington avenue and Seventh  avenue, Fiftieth   street  between  Lexington  Avenue  and  Seventh  avenue  and Fifty-seventh street between Lexington Avenue and Seventh avenue;  (b) there shall be a  limit  of  one  authorized  specialized  vending license holder per block face;  (c)  there  shall  be  a limit of one hundred five specialized vending license holders authorized to vend within the area at any one time to be allocated as follows: sixty upon the effective date of  the  chapter  of the  laws  of  two  thousand  four  which  amended  this  paragraph,  an additional fifteen commencing three months from the  effective  date  of the  chapter  of  the  laws  of  two  thousand  four  which amended this paragraph, and an additional ten in each of the succeeding  three  years commencing on January thirty-first, two thousand five;  (d) the rule set forth pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this   section   shall  establish,  pursuant  to  the  priority  system, procedures  for  issuing  specialized  vending  licenses   pursuant   to paragraph   (c)   of   this   subdivision;  any  dispute  regarding  the implementation of such procedure shall be subject to  a  prompt  hearing before an administrative law judge with the New York state department of labor, provided that if such judge determines that a specialized vending license  holder  willfully  violated  such  procedure,  such specialized vending license holder shall be subject to a thirty  day  suspension  of the  specialized vending license to peddle in the area described in this subdivision; if any specialized vending  license  holder  who  has  been determined to have willfully violated such procedure is determined, in a subsequent  proceeding, to have willfully violated such procedure at any time following the initial violation, such specialized  vending  license holder  shall  be  subject  to  a one-year suspension of the specialized vending license to peddle in the area described in this subdivision;  if such  specialized  vending license holder is determined for a third time to have willfully violated  such  procedure,  such  specialized  vending license   holder  shall  be  subject  to  permanent  revocation  of  the specialized vending license to peddle in  the  area  described  in  this subdivision;  (e) specialized vending licensees under this section shall:  (i)   permit   regular  inspections  by  the  official  in  such  city responsible for issuing specialized vending licenses or  any  authorized city  agency  of  any  goods,  vehicle,  pushcart,  or stand used in the operation of the vending business, or any premises used by  him  or  her for  the  storage  or preparation of goods intended to be vended in such business; and  (ii) provide  the  official  in  such  city  responsible  for  issuing specialized  vending licenses or other authorized officer of the city on a semi-annual basis, or more often if required by local law,  by-law  or regulation  in  such  city,  the  address  and name of the owners or the manufacturers, suppliers  or  distributors  from  whom  the  specialized vending licensee receives his or her goods and also the address at which the specialized vending licensee stores his or her goods or any vehicle, pushcart or stand used in the operation of the vending business;  (f)  no specialized vending licensee shall vend on any sidewalk unless such sidewalk is at least ten feet in width;  (g) no vending vehicle, pushcart, stand,  goods,  or  any  other  item related to the operation of a vending business shall touch, lean against or  be  affixed  permanently or temporarily to any building or structure including, but not limited to, lamp posts, parking meters,  mail  boxes,  traffic  signal  stanchions,  fire  hydrants,  tree  boxes, benches, bus shelters, refuse baskets or traffic barriers;  (h)  no  vending  pushcart,  stand  or  goods shall be located against display windows of fixed location businesses, nor shall they  be  within twenty  feet  from  an  entranceway to any commercial building or store, measured as a radius extending from the center of  the  doorway,  except where  such  doorways are within forty feet from each other, and in such case a vending pushcart, stand or goods shall be an equal distance  from the  center  of the doorway of each such commercial business or store at the furthest possible distance on the sidewalk from the  building  line, and  no vending pushcart, stand or goods shall be within sixty-five feet of the entranceway to any theater, movie house, indoor sports arena,  or place  of  worship  or  school,  measured as a radius extending from the center of such entranceway;  (i) no specialized vending  licensee  shall  occupy  more  than  eight linear  feet  of public space parallel to the curb in the operation of a vending business and,  in  addition,  no  specialized  vending  licensee operating  any  vending  business on any sidewalk shall occupy more than three linear feet to be measured from the curb toward the property line;  (j) each specialized vending licensee who vends  from  a  pushcart  or stand  in the roadway shall obey all traffic and parking laws, rules and regulations as now exist or as may be promulgated, but in no case  shall a  specialized  vending licensee restrict the continued maintenance of a clear passageway for vehicles;  (k) no specialized vending licensee shall vend using  the  surface  of the  sidewalk,  or a blanket or board placed immediately on the sidewalk or  on  top  of  a  trash  receptacle  or  cardboard  boxes  to  display merchandise.  No  specialized  vending  licensee display may exceed five feet in height from ground level. The  display  may  not  be  less  than twenty-four  inches  above  the  sidewalk  where  the display surface is parallel to the sidewalk, and may not be less than twelve  inches  above the  sidewalk  where  the  display  surface is vertical. Where a rack or other display structure is placed on top of or above a  table  or  other base,  the  size  of  the  base  shall  not be less than the size of the display structure placed thereon. Nothing shall be placed on the base so as to exceed the  size  limitations  contained  in  this  paragraph.  No specialized  vending  licensee  shall  use any area other than that area immediately beneath the surface of the display space of the  storage  of items for sale; and  (l) no specialized vending licensee shall:  (i)  vend  within any bus stop or taxi stand or within ten feet of any driveway, any subway entrance or exit or any corner; provided,  however, for  the purpose of this subparagraph, ten feet from any corner shall be measured  from  a  point  where  the  property  line  on   the   nearest intersecting  block  face,  when  extended,  meets the curb, except when noncompliance with the ten foot limitation of this paragraph is  due  to the  placement  of  an obstruction. In such case the specialized vending licensee may vend within ten feet; provided, however, that such licensee must vend as far as possible from  the  nearest  such  driveway,  subway entrance  or  exit,  or corner, and in no event within five feet of such driveway, subway entrance or exit, or corner;  (ii) vend on the median strip of a divided roadway unless  such  strip is intended for use as a pedestrian mall or plaza;  (iii)   vend   over  any  ventilation  grill,  cellar  door,  manhole, transformer vault, or subway access grating;  (iv) sell or offer for sale any  item  directly  from  any  parked  or double-parked motor vehicle;  (v)  use  electricity  or oil or gasoline powered equipment devices or machinery of any kind; provided, however, that such specialized  vending license  holder  shall be authorized to use self-contained battery packs not exceeding sixteen volts in total  solely  to  provide  lighting  for their vending business;  (vi) vend within thirty feet of an entrance to a park or within a park under  the  jurisdiction  of the agency in such city that is responsible for  such  city's  parks   and   recreational   areas   unless   written authorization therefor has been obtained from such agency;  (vii) vend within twenty feet of a sidewalk cafe;  (viii)  vend  within  five feet from bus shelters, news stands, public telephones, or disabled access ramps; and  (ix) vend within ten feet from entrances or exits to  buildings  which are exclusively residential at street level.   7-a.  In  the  borough  of  Manhattan  in  the  city  of New York, the following  additional  provisions  shall  apply  to  the   issuance   of specialized  vending  licenses  to  disabled veteran vendors pursuant to this section:  (a) such specialized vending license  holders  shall  additionally  be prohibited  from  vending  on Broadway between Murray Street and Battery Place and on Park Row between Ann Street and Spruce Street;  (b) such specialized vending license  holders  shall  additionally  be prohibited from vending in the area including and bounded on the east by the  easterly  side  of  Broadway, on the south by the southerly side of Liberty Street, on the west by the westerly side of West Street  and  on the north by the northerly side of Vesey Street.   8.  Any  dispute concerning the location of a vendor under subdivision three of this section shall be subject to a  prompt  hearing  before  an administrative  law  judge  with the New York state department of labor, provided that if  such  judge  determines  that  a  specialized  vending license  holder  willfully  violated  such  procedure,  such specialized vending license holder shall be subject to a thirty  day  suspension  of the  specialized  vending  license to peddle in the area and on the days and at the times described in subdivision three of this section; if  any specialized  vending  license  holder  who  has  been determined to have willfully  violated  such  procedure  is  determined,  in  a  subsequent proceeding,  to  have  willfully  violated  such  procedure  at any time following the initial violation, such specialized vending license holder shall be subject to a one-year suspension  of  the  specialized  vending license to peddle in the area and on the days and at the times described in  subdivision  three  of  this  section;  if  such specialized vending license holder is determined for a third time to have willfully violated such procedure, such specialized vending license holder shall be subject to permanent revocation of the specialized vending license to peddle  in the  area  and  on    the days and at the times described in subdivision three of this section; other disputes arising under this section,  other than  those disputes arising under paragraph (d) of subdivision seven of this section, shall  be  adjudicated  in  accordance  with  local  laws, ordinances, by-laws or regulations concerning general vending.   9.  There  shall  be  established  within  the  agency responsible for issuing specialized vending licenses in such city an advisory  committee consisting  of up to six disabled veteran vendors who shall consult with the official designated to issue specialized vending licenses under this section concerning the process by which specialized vending licenses are issued and the restrictions herein are enforced.  The  members  of  such committee  shall  be elected on or before August first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight by a majority  of  the  disabled  veteran  vendors  holding general  vending  licenses in such city as of August fifteenth, nineteen  hundred ninety-eight. The election  of  such  members  shall  be  by  an election  which  shall  be  conducted  by the state department of labor; provided, however, that if the majority of such disabled veteran vendors holding  general  vendor  licenses  in  such  city as of June fifteenth, nineteen hundred  ninety-eight  fail  to  select  the  members  of  such committee on or before August second, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, the agency responsible for issuing specialized vending licenses in such city may  still establish procedures for issuing specialized vending licenses pursuant to this section no later than October first,  nineteen  hundred ninety-eight.  In  the  event a committee member resigns or is unable to fulfill his or her duties, such member will be replaced by someone  from the  ranks  of  the disabled veteran vendors by consensus of veterans on the existing committee.   10. The agency responsible for issuing  specialized  vending  licenses shall  publish  educational materials describing the provisions of state and local laws, rules and regulations governing disabled veteran vending in the city of New York and enforcement thereof for distribution to  the public and appropriate city enforcement agencies.   11.  Where  the  city  of New York authorizes general vending, through permit, auction, lottery or any other method subsequent to the effective date of this subdivision other than temporary  general  vendor  licenses issued  in  connection  with  street  fairs on any block face, street or avenue specified in paragraph (a) of subdivision  seven  or  subdivision seven-a  of  this  section,  the  prohibitions  and restrictions in this section on vending by specialized vending licensees shall not  apply  on such  block face, street or avenue and the number of specialized vending licensees authorized per block  face,  street  or  avenue  shall,  at  a minimum,  be  equal  to  the greatest number of any single type of other vendor including but not limited to food, general, or vendors of written matter and others similarly situated  on  such  block  face,  street  or avenue.