2023 New York Laws › VAT - Vehicle and Traffic › Title 7 - Rules of the Road › Article 32 - Stopping, Standing, and Parking › 1203-C - Off Street Parking Spaces for the Handicapped.

§ 1203-c. Off  street  parking  spaces  for  the  handicapped.  1. Any
person, firm or corporation owning a shopping center or facility with at
least five separate retail stores and at least twenty off street parking
spaces which are provided for use by the shopping public must  designate
as  only for the handicapped and clearly mark for use by the handicapped
a minimum of five percent of such parking  spaces  or  ten  such  spaces
whichever  is  less. These spaces must be located as close as reasonably
practicable to the shopping center facility and  reasonably  distributed
so  as to provide convenient access for use by handicapped drivers. Such
parking spaces are to be used either by handicapped drivers displaying a
special municipal parking permit (as defined in section  twelve  hundred
three-a  of  this  chapter  and distributed by the commissioner of motor
vehicles to local governing bodies to be issued to  handicapped  persons
who  reside  in  such  locality)  or  by  motor  vehicles  registered in
accordance with section four hundred four-a of this  chapter  and  being
used for the transportation of a handicapped person.
2.  (a)  The  parking  spaces designated pursuant to the provisions of
this section shall be clearly identified for use by handicapped  persons
which  designation  shall  include conspicuous and permanently installed
above grade signs which display the international symbol of  access  and
which  shall be positioned from the parking space surface at a height of
not less than five feet nor more than seven feet and may include the use
of blue painted lines or markings.  Such  parking  spaces  also  may  be
marked as tow-away zones.
(b)  Whenever  a  person,  firm  or  corporation creates an off-street
parking lot or parking garage, or repaves or repaints more than one-half
of the total number of parking spaces in an off-street  parking  lot  or
parking garage, which contains designated handicapped parking spaces, or
creates  designated  handicapped parking spaces in an off-street parking
lot or parking garage, or repaves or repaints more than one-half of  the
total  number  of designated handicapped parking spaces in an off-street
parking lot or  parking  garage,  the  size  of  designated  handicapped
parking  spaces  and  designated handicapped parking space access aisles
each shall be at least eight feet wide. Such access aisles also shall be
(i) clearly designated with conspicuous and permanently installed  above
grade  signs  which  shall  read "No Parking Anytime" and which shall be
positioned from the access aisle surface at a height of  not  less  than
five  feet  nor  more  than  seven  feet,  and (ii) marked with diagonal
stripes.
3. A violation of this section by  any  person,  firm  or  corporation
owning  a shopping center or facility with at least five separate retail
stores and at least twenty off street parking spaces which are  provided
for  use by the shopping public who fails to provide spaces only for the
handicapped and clearly marked for use by the handicapped in  accordance
with this section, shall be punishable by a fine up to two hundred fifty
dollars.
4.  Except  as  otherwise provided by local law which imposes a larger
maximum fine, any person who stops, stands or parks  in  spaces  clearly
marked  for  use  by the handicapped either: (a) in accordance with this
section; or (b) in the parking area of a  shopping  center  or  facility
with at least one but less than five separate retail stores and at least
twenty  off  street  parking  spaces  provided  for  use by the shopping
public, in accordance with the state fire prevention and building  code,
without  a  special  vehicle  identification  parking  permit, a special
municipal parking permit or whose motor vehicle  is  not  registered  in
accordance  with  section  four hundred four-a of this chapter and being
used for the transportation of a handicapped person; or with such permit
or registration and such person is not the one to  whom  the  permit  or

registration  was  issued  or  is not transporting the person issued the
permit or registration; or any person who parks in a handicapped parking
access aisle; shall be subject to a fine of not less than fifty  dollars
nor   more   than   seventy-five  dollars  for  the  first  offense  and
seventy-five to  one  hundred  fifty  dollars  for  the  second  offense
occurring within a period of two years within the same municipality. The
arresting  or  ticketing  officer  shall issue a summons to violators of
this section. A ticketing officer issuing a  summons  pursuant  to  this
section  may  provide  for  the  removal  and storage of a motor vehicle
illegally parked in  a  handicapped  parking  space,  or  a  handicapped
parking access aisle.
5.  As used in this section, the term "handicapped" shall also include
a "severely disabled person" as defined in section four  hundred  four-a
of this chapter.
6.  Notwithstanding  any  other  state or local law to the contrary, a
state, county or municipal law enforcement officer  seeking  to  enforce
subdivision  four  of this section may enter onto the parking lot of any
shopping center or facility as described in subdivision one or  four  of
this  section  or  any  other parking lot as described in the state fire
prevention and building code, which is required  to  contain  accessible
and  designated  parking spaces for people with disabilities, regardless
of the existence or absence of any state or local law or rule  otherwise
permitting or restricting such access for such law enforcement officer.