No public operation or exhibition of moving
pictures shall be had until there shall be filed with the City Clerk
a certificate of the Underwriters’ Association of New York State
that the electric wiring and fixtures, except service connections,
have been examined and found in a satisfactory condition. Any change
therein shall be likewise examined and certified.
The projection machine shall be operated only
by a competent and experienced person.
The owner or manager of every place devoted to the purpose of museum or theatrical representation and moving pictures, including theaters and opera houses, shall apply for and obtain a license before opening any such place to the public. Such owner or manager shall make application to the Common Council for such license. The application must contain a brief description of the place for which the license is desired and be signed by the applicant. The City Chamberlain shall, when directed to do so by the Common Council, issue to such person a license upon the payment to him of the appropriate license fee, which shall be set by the Common Council from time to time as the annual license fee for the operation of such place of amusement. Excepting, however, in the case of a manager or owner of a moving picture theater, the City Chamberlain shall not issue such license under any conditions until the applicant therefor shall have filed with him an underwriters’ certificate as provided in §
233-1 of this chapter.
The exhibition of any and all traveling circuses,
public shows or exhibitions of any kind or description for hire within
this City is hereby expressly prohibited (unless the same are held
in a duly licensed place as provided in the next sentence), unless
the owner, manager or exhibitor shall have first applied for and obtained
a license therefor as herein provided. The City Chamberlain shall
issue to such owner, the exhibitor or manager a license, upon such
person filing with him an application and paying such license fee
as shall be set by the Common Council from time to time. Such application
shall be in writing and shall contain a description of the circus
or other exhibition for which the license is desired and shall be
signed by the applicant.
No license issued as provided by this chapter
shall be transferred to any person or persons unless the City Chamberlain
shall first consent to such transfer.
Any person, owner, manager or exhibitor who
shall violate any provision of this chapter, upon conviction thereof,
shall be subject to a penalty of not more than $250 or imprisonment
for not more than 15 days, or both, for each and every offense.