[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Massapequa Park 5-22-1967 as Art. II of Ch. 18 of
the 1967 Code; amended in its entirety 4-24-2000 by L.L. No. 8-2000. Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.]
The Board of Trustees is hereby empowered to
promulgate and prescribe rules and regulations for the proper administration
and enforcement of this chapter.
Except as provided in § 314-10, no person shall operate a towing car for hire within the Village of Massapequa Park unless a license therefor shall first be obtained from the Board of Trustees, signed by the Mayor and countersigned by the Clerk/Treasurer, as hereinafter provided.
No license to operate a towing car for hire
shall be issued unless an application therefor shall have been filed
with the Village Clerk/Treasurer upon a written form mandated therefor
by the Board of Trustees, which shall include the following information:
A.Â
If a corporation, the name and principal place of
business of the applicant, together with a certified copy of the certificate
of incorporation and, if the applicant is an individual, the name
and principal place of business of the individual, together with his
age and residence, which information must be set forth in a written,
notarized statement by the applicant to the Village of Massapequa
Park.
B.Â
The registration number of each towing car to be operated
within the Village of Massapequa Park.
D.Â
Such license will be limited to tow car companies operating a business
within the boundaries of the incorporated Village of Massapequa Park.
[Added 7-11-2016 by L.L.
No. 3-2016]
The fee payable for each license hereunder or renewal thereof, which license shall cover two towing cars operated by the same owner, shall be as provided in Chapter A350, Fees, provided that if such license is issued less than six months before the expiration thereof, such fee shall be as provided in Chapter A350, Fees. In the event that an applicant operates and owns more than two such towing cars, then the fee per annum shall be as provided in Chapter A350, Fees, for each additional car and as provided in Chapter A350, Fees, for a period of six months or less.
The Board of Trustees, in its discretion, shall
have the power to suspend any license issued pursuant to this chapter
for the violation of any rules thereof or of any rules and regulations
promulgated by it or for the failure of the owner or operator of any
towing car to render services to the owner or driver of a disabled
vehicle who is able and willing to pay the fee prescribed in the schedule
of prices filed by the licensee as hereinbefore prescribed.
An applicant for a license hereunder shall file
with the Board of Trustees for its approval a schedule of the maximum
prices to be charged for towing and storage of disabled motor vehicles.
Such charges shall be based on the distance that each disabled motor
vehicle is to be towed and shall not be based on available of towing
car facilities. No towing car owner or operator or other person employed
by the owner shall base any charge upon estimation.
Conspicuously on each side of every towing car
for which a license has been granted there shall be legibly inscribed
in letters not less than three inches high the name and address of
the owner of such towing car or of the person having the license therefor
and the license number assigned to such towing car by the Village
Clerk/Treasurer.
It shall be unlawful for any person to tow away
any motor vehicle which has been involved in an accident without the
prior written consent of the owner of said motor vehicle or the police
officer at the scene of the accident. No car shall be removed from
the scene of an accident where the police officer requires or requests
that an examination be held for the purpose of determining whether
the car is defective.
It shall be unlawful for any person to drive
along any street or highway in the Village of Massapequa Park for
the purpose of soliciting towing work.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply
to cases where, without solicitation, the owner of a damaged car shall
have specifically requested that his vehicle be towed by an unlicensed
tow car.
It shall be unlawful for owners or operators
of tow trucks to solicit business or cruise for said purposes within
the Incorporated Village of Massapequa Park unless specifically summoned
by person or persons requiring such service.
A.Â
No motor vehicle which is parked on private property,
public property or public streets within the Village of Massapequa
Park, shall be towed without prior written authorization of the property
owner where the motor vehicle is located unless the following requirements
are met:
(1)Â
The property owner or his authorized agent shall file
with the Police Precinct of the Nassau County Police Department having
jurisdiction and with the Village Clerk/Treasurer of the Incorporated
Village of Massapequa Park, a copy of a written agreement authorizing
one or more tow car owners to tow unauthorized parked motor vehicles
located on the property owner's premises.
(2)Â
The property owner shall conspicuously post at all
entrances to the property owner's premises signs large enough to be
read by the general public stating that an unauthorized parked motor
vehicle shall be towed at the motor vehicle owner's expense, and such
signs must state the name of the company and the telephone number
where the motor vehicle can be recovered. If there are no entrances,
signs must be placed in conspicuous places when entering and/or parking
the motor vehicle. The lettering of the signs shall be large enough
to be seen when entering the property of the property owner and/or
parking the motor vehicle. Any and all signs required to be installed
pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the prior written
approval of the Board of Trustees.
(3)Â
The authorized tow car owner shall tow an unauthorized
parked motor vehicle only upon the express direction and written consent
of the property owner or his authorized agent of the premises where
the unauthorized motor vehicle(s) is located.
(4)Â
Motor vehicles must be lifted and towed by the towing
company in such a manner as to prevent damage to said vehicle and
roadway, and if not, the towing company and property owner shall jointly
and severally be legally responsible for all damages of any kind whatsoever
resulting therefrom.
(5)Â
The tow car owner shall immediately notify, in writing,
both the Village of Massapequa Park and the local precinct of the
Nassau County Police Department having jurisdiction of the towing
of an unauthorized parked motor vehicle and the name and address of
the location to which it is towed, together with the telephone number
of such location.
(6)Â
A fee schedule including towing, storage and labor
charges for vehicles towed pursuant to this chapter shall be subject
to the written approval of the Board of Trustees of the Village of
Massapequa Park.
(7)Â
No tow car owner shall tow any vehicle located on
private property, public property or public streets and no property
owner shall allow any motor vehicle to be towed from its property
without having fully complied with all of the applicable requirements
as set forth in this chapter.
It is hereby found and declared that the practice
of "booting" vehicles parked on private property or private parking
lots or public property or public streets accessible to the public
poses a danger to the safety and welfare of the public because such
practice may prevent the removal of such vehicles, even when such
removal may be necessitated by an emergency. Booting may also cause
dangerous confrontations between owners of vehicles and the person
booting their cars. Owners of private parking lots wishing to maintain
parking for rule-abiding customers or residents are primarily interested
in keeping spaces available to legitimate users; no service is performed,
therefore, by immobilizing vehicles and preventing legitimate use
of the space occupied. Private persons should therefore be prohibited
from engaging in the practice of booting.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The act of placing on a parked motor vehicle a mechanical
device that is designed to be attached to the wheel or tire or other
part of such vehicle so as to prohibit its movement.
No person other than a police officer or a person acting
under the direction of the Police Department, who may, for the purpose
of enforcing any private or public parking rules or regulations, boot
or authorize the booting of a motor vehicle parked on a private parking
lot.
Any area or areas of private property near or contiguous
to and provided in connection with premises having one or more stores,
business establishments or residences and used by the public as a
means of access to and egress from such stores, businesses and residences
and for the parking of motor vehicles of customers, patrons and residents
of such stores, businesses and residences.
Any area or areas of public property or public streets within
the Incorporated Village of Massapequa Park.
It is unlawful for any person or entity to immobilize
any motor vehicle parked in the Village by any means, including, but
not limited to, what is commonly referred to as "booting." No property
owner or tenant shall authorize any person to so immobilize any motor
vehicle. If so, that person or entity shall be in violation of this
chapter and, upon conviction thereof, shall be guilty of a Class B
misdemeanor.
Any person who shall violate any provision of
this article, upon conviction thereof, shall be guilty of a Class
B misdemeanor. Any person, corporation, partnership or entity violating
any terms or provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation
and shall be subject to a mandatory minimum fine of $250, plus that
term of imprisonment relating to a conviction of a Class B misdemeanor.
This chapter shall take effect immediately.
