[Adopted 1-5-1999 by L.L.
No. 1-1999]
A.
The Board of Trustees has observed that the Village of
Johnson City has experienced an increase in the number of house burglaries
during the late 1980's and early 1990's. This Board has found and determined
that the disposition of such stolen property is easily accomplished by the
perpetrators of such crimes and offenses at secondhand and junk shops on a
"no questions asked" basis.
B.
This board is vested with the power to provide for the
licensing and regulation of dealers in secondhand goods pursuant to § 4-412
of the Village Law. Said power is predicated upon the protection of the public
health, safety and welfare. Accordingly, this article is enacted for the purpose
of licensing dealers in secondhand goods for the protection of the public
and to aid law enforcement officials in their efforts to control and reduce
the incidents of crime involving stolen personal property.
A.
No person, either as principal, agent or employee, shall,
within the incorporated limits of the Village of Johnson City, establish,
engage in or carry on the business of a dealer in secondhand goods as defined
herein, either separately or in connection with some other business, without
first having obtained and paid for and having in full force and effect a license
as provided by this article.
B.
The fee for licenses issued under this article shall
be $50 per year.
For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall
have the meanings ascribed to them by this section:
Any person engaged in the commercial exchange, purchase and/or sale
of the following secondhand articles: radios, televisions, household appliances
(except for refrigerators, freezers, stoves/ranges, dishwashers and trash
compactors), either electrical or mechanical, cameras, bicycles, electronic
equipment, office furniture, business machines, jewelry, old gold, silver,
platinum or other precious metals, firearms, rifles and shotguns.
Includes the singular and the plural and shall also mean and include
any person, firm or corporation, association, club, copartnership, society
or any other organization.
Any person desiring to procure a license as herein provided shall file
with the Village Clerk a verified application upon a blank form prepared by
the Village Clerk and furnished by the village. Such application shall contain
the following information:
A.
Name, description, date of birth and social security
number of the applicant.
B.
Home address of the applicant.
C.
Business address of the applicant.
D.
Telephone number of the business.
E.
Name of the business.
G.
A statement as to whether or not the applicant, any partner
or any principal officer has been convicted of any crime, or any violation
of any municipal ordinance, the nature of the offense and the punishment or
penalty therefor.
H.
A certificate from the sealer of weights and measures
of the County of Broome certifying that all weighing and measuring devices
to be used by the applicant have been examined and approved pursuant to law.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a combined secondhand
dealer/pawnbroker shop pursuant to the provisions of § 47 of the
General Business Law.
A.
The Village Clerk shall send a copy of the above-mentioned
verified application to the Chief of Police of the Village of Johnson City
for investigation. The Chief of Police shall report findings, if any, to the
Village Clerk within seven business days of the receipt and filing of said
application.
B.
Upon receipt of the findings of the Chief of Police, the Village Clerk shall, except as set forth below, issue to the applicant a license as required by § 172-27, signed by the Village Clerk or the Deputy Village Clerk.
C.
Denial of license.
(1)
In accordance with the legislative purpose of this article,
no license shall be denied except when the applicant(s) and/or principal(s)
of the business have been convicted, in a court of competent jurisdiction,
within five years prior to the date of said application, of any of the following:
(2)
However, the denial of a license for any above-enumerated
grounds shall be consistent with the provisions of Article 23-A of the New
York State Correction Law.
D.
All licenses shall be issued from a properly bound book
with proper reference stubs kept for that purpose, numbered in the order in
which they are issued.
E.
No license shall be issued to an applicant who does not
agree to comply with all local laws, ordinances, rules and regulations of
the Village of Johnson City pertaining to the operation of a business or occupation.
A.
Any applicant refused a license by the Village Clerk
may apply, in writing, within five business days of such refusal, to the Mayor
for a hearing on his application before a hearing officer designated by the
Mayor. The Mayor may, in his discretion, designate a village officer as permanent
hearing officer for appeals under this section, or he may make such designations
on an individual basis.
B.
Rejection of an application based upon any of the grounds set forth in § 172-31C(1)(a) through (e) shall create a rebuttable presumption that the applicant is not entitled to receive a license hereunder. Accordingly, the burden of proof shall be upon the applicant in the hearing.
C.
The hearing officer shall explain his denial or approval
of the application, in writing, to the Village Clerk and the applicant within
five business days of the hearing.
All licenses issued pursuant to this article shall state clearly the
following information:
All licenses issued under the provisions of this article shall automatically
expire on December 31 following the date of issuance of such licenses.
It shall be the duty of the Village Clerk to keep a record of all applications
and of all licenses granted under the provisions of this article, giving the
number and date of each license, the name and residence of the persons licensed,
the amount of the license fee paid and the date of revocation of all licenses
revoked.
A.
The Mayor of the Village of Johnson City may revoke or
suspend any license issued under the provisions of this article for any of
the following causes:
(1)
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement contained
in the application for the license.
(2)
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement made in the
course of carrying on the business licensed under this Code.
(3)
Any violation of the provisions of this article.
(4)
Conviction of the licensee or any principal upon any of the grounds set forth above in § 172-31C(1)(a) through (e) of this article during the term of the license.
(5)
Conducting the business licensed under this article in
an unlawful manner or in such a manner as to constitute a breach of the peace
or to constitute a menace to the health, safety or general welfare of the
public.
B.
When a license shall be revoked or suspended, no refund
of any unearned portion of the license fee shall be made. The Mayor shall
notify the Village Clerk of the revocation or suspension of any license, and
the reason or reasons therefor, in writing, shall be served by the Village
Clerk upon the licensee personally or by mailing by registered mail a copy
of the same to the business address given by the licensee. A copy of such
notice shall be filed in the office of the Village Clerk.
A.
Any licensee whose license has been revoked or suspended by the village may apply in writing to the Mayor, within five business days of receipt of the notice required by § 172-36, for a hearing on such revocation or suspension before a hearing officer to be designated by the Mayor. The Mayor may, in his discretion, designate a village officer as permanent hearing officer for appeals under this section, or he may make such designations on an individual basis.
B.
Such application for a hearing shall stay the effect
of any order of revocation or suspension until such time as the administrative
appeal has been completed.
C.
Said hearing shall be held within five business days
of the receipt of the request by the Mayor.
D.
The hearing officer shall explain his affirmance or reversal
of the revocation or suspension of the license, in writing, to the Village
Clerk, the Mayor and the licensee within five business days of the hearing.
E.
The hearing officer shall have the power to modify any
revocation or suspension upon such terms as are deemed equitable by him under
the circumstances. In no event shall the hearing officer have the power to
increase any penalty.
F.
Revocation or suspension of a license upon any of the grounds set forth in § 172-36A(1) through (5) shall create a rebuttable presumption that the license was properly revoked or suspended except as provided below in Subsection G. Accordingly, the burden of proof shall be upon the applicant in the hearing.
G.
Any revocation or suspension of a license upon the grounds
that the licensee has been convicted of any offense involving the sale and/or
possession of stolen property in relation to the place of business for which
said license has been issued shall create an irrebuttable presumption that
the revocation or suspension was proper, provided that an appropriate certificate
of conviction has been entered as part of the record. In such cases, the hearing
officer's powers shall be limited to reviewing the penalty as determined by
the Mayor.
Every person to whom a license has been granted hereunder, while exercising
his license, shall exhibit said license upon request of any individual.
A license issued under the provisions of this article shall not be assignable.
Any holder of such a license who permits it to be used by any other person,
and any person who uses such license granted to any other person, shall each
be guilty of a violation of this article.
No license shall be issued under the provisions of this article to a
person under 18 years of age unless the parent or legal guardian of any such
minor is a coapplicant with such minor for a license under this article.
No applicant to whom a license has been refused or who has had a license
which has been revoked shall make further application until a period of at
least six months shall have elapsed since the last previous rejection or revocation,
unless the applicant can show that the reason for such rejection no longer
exists.
A.
Changing place of business. If any licensee shall move
his place of business from the place designated in the license, he shall immediately
give notice to the Village Clerk and have the same endorsed on. No licensee
shall carry on business at any other place than the one designated in the
license.
B.
Cooperation with police. It shall be the duty of every
licensee to cooperate with the Village of Johnson City Police Department in
preventing the sale or exchange of stolen property. If a licensee has reason
to believe that an attempt is being made to sell stolen property, he shall
notify the Police Department at once.
C.
Lost or stolen property.
(1)
If any article shall be advertised in the newspaper designated
by the village for the publication of legal notices as having been lost or
stolen, and if any goods or articles answering such advertised description
or any part thereof shall be in or come into the possession of any dealer
in secondhand goods, upon receiving actual written or oral notice of the similarity
of the description of such articles, such dealer shall immediately give information
relating thereto to the police.
(2)
No disposition of such articles shall be effected until
authorization to do so shall be given to such dealer by the police.
(3)
A dealer in secondhand goods, when notified by the police
that property in his possession is stolen or alleged to be stolen, shall take
immediate steps to secure that property, and such items shall be marked "police
stop." Thereafter, such property shall not be sold or removed from the premises
until notification is made to the dealer, in writing, by the police allowing
such removal or sale. Whenever practicable, the police shall personally render
such notification within 24 hours of the marking of the police stop.
D.
Records of purchases to be kept by licensee.
(1)
Every dealer in secondhand articles shall keep a bound
book of consecutively numbered transactions, in which shall be legibly written
in English, at the time of every purchase or receipt of secondhand goods from
a person other than a dealer in secondhand goods, the following information:
(a)
The date of the transaction.
(b)
The name and address of the person from whom goods are
purchased.
(c)
Proof of identity as prescribed herein. Only the following
shall be deemed acceptable evidence of identity:
[1]
Any official document, except a social security account
number card, issued by the United States government or any state, county,
municipality or subdivision thereof or any public agency or department thereof
or any public or private employer, which requires and bears the signature
of the person to whom it is issued.
[2]
Other identification documentation which, under the circumstances of any particular purchase, would lead a reasonable person to believe to be accurate and reliable, when identification under Subsection D(1)(c)[1] of this section is not available.
[4]
General description of goods involved in the transaction,
including make and model, serial number and any other distinguishing monograms
or marks.
(2)
Every dealer in secondhand goods who receives secondhand articles on consignment shall keep a record, in the above-prescribed book, describing the articles and the name and description of the person such items are received from as prescribed above in Subsection D(1).
(3)
Such records shall be kept on the business premises of
the secondhand dealership or at a place so designated on the duly approved
license at all times during normal business hours. Such records shall be open
during normal business hours to inspection by members of the Bureau of Police
or any person duly authorized in writing by the Chief of Police for such purposes
who shall exhibit such written authority to the dealer.
F.
Restrictions on purchases from children; exceptions.
(1)
No person licensed under this article shall receive or
purchase any goods, chattels, wares or merchandise from any child under the
age of 16 years. However, such purchases may be made if said child is accompanied
by his or her parent or legal guardian.
(2)
Said restrictions on children shall not apply to transactions
involving the purchase or sale of stamps, currency or coins.
(3)
It shall be no defense to a prosecution for a violation
of this section that, in the transaction upon which the prosecution is based,
the child acted as the agent or representative of another or that the defendant
dealt with such child as the agent or representative of another.
A.
Unlicensed dealers. Any person who, himself, or by his clerk, agent or employee, shall act as a dealer in secondhand goods as herein defined without a license, or who shall violate any of the provisions of this article, or who, having had his license revoked, shall continue to act as a secondhand dealer, shall upon conviction be punished as provided in § 1-15 of this Code.
B.
Violations by licensees. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 1-15 of this Code, any person, duly licensed under this article, who shall not comply with the provisions of § 172-42A through F of this article, entitled "Regulations applicable to licensees," shall be subject to administrative penalties, including revocation or suspension of any such license and/or the commencement of a civil action for a penalty as provided for by § 1-15 of this Code.
C.
Injunctive relief available. In addition to the above-provided penalties and punishment, the Village Board may maintain an action or proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with the provisions of this article or to restrain by injunction offenses against this article as provided by § 1-17.
