[HISTORY: Derived from the Charter and Ordinances, 1974,
of the City of Buffalo as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction and demolition; fire prevention — See Ch. 103.
Unsafe buildings — See Ch. 113.
Certificates of occupancy — See Ch. 129.
City property — See Ch. 133.
Enforcement — See Ch. 137.
Garbage, rubbish and refuse — See Ch. 216.
Handbills and other publications — See Ch. 232.
Housing standards — See Ch. 242.
Lodging houses — See Ch. 269.
Multiple housing — See Ch. 281.
Parks and other open spaces — See Ch. 309.
Snow removal — See Ch. 404.
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 413.
Trees, shrubs and plants — See Ch. 467.
[Derived from Sec. 63 of Ch. IV of the Charter and Ordinances,
1974]
[Amended 6-12-2001, effective 6-22-2001; 6-5-2003, effective 6-6-2003]
It shall be the duty of every owner, occupant or person having
charge of lands within the City to cut down or cause to be cut down
all overgrown weeds, grass, brush and other vegetation and to remove
or cause to be removed all garbage and tree limbs or other debris
on said land each and every year between May 1 and June 1 and so often
thereafter as necessary to maintain such land in a sanitary and orderly
condition.
Failure to comply with this section shall constitute a violation
of this section and shall be punishable by a Class F fine in the amount
of $150. This shall be in addition to any other penalty provided in
the Code of the City of Buffalo or in any other law.
[Amended 7-9-1996, effective 7-23-1996]
It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Street Sanitation
to see that the provisions of this article are enforced. Where violations
of this article exist, the Commissioner of Street Sanitation shall
notify the owner of such land of the violation. Such notice shall
give the owner five days to comply with this article. Such notice
may be mailed by first class mail to the owner pursuant to Buffalo
Charter Sec. 160. In the alternative, the notice may be personally
served upon the owner by delivering the notice to the owner or by
delivering the notice to a person of suitable age and discretion at
the owner's residence or place of business.
In the event that the owner of such land receives notification to correct the violation and does not comply therewith, the Commissioner of Street Sanitation shall engage the services of a private contractor to perform the necessary work. The Commissioner of Street Sanitation shall charge and bill the owner for the cost of such services. In his discretion, the Commissioner may assign City personnel to do the work, in which case a charge as provided in Chapter 175, Fees, shall be made.
The Commissioner of Street Sanitation shall keep an account
of all such work done and shall report to the Common Council all parcels
of land upon which such work has been performed and the names of the
owners of said parcels who have not paid for the cost of the work
performed, and the Common Council shall thereupon order assessments
upon such lands for the unpaid sums so reported.
[Derived from Art. II of Ch. XII of the Charter and Ordinances,
1974]
Residential, commercial, storage and industrial buildings, whether
occupied or vacant, and accessory structures shall be maintained in
conformity with the provisions of this article so as to assure the
desirable character of the property and its effect on surrounding
areas.
A.
Surface and subsurface water shall be appropriately drained to protect
buildings and structures and to prevent the development of stagnant
ponds.
B.
All drainage water from roof surfaces of residential buildings shall
be properly drained into a sewer, or by any alternate method approved
by the Commissioner. No buildings or structures shall discharge roof
drainage on sidewalk, stairs or neighboring property.
C.
Fences and other minor construction shall be maintained in good repair
and in a safe condition.
D.
Steps, walks, driveways, parking spaces and similar paved areas shall
be maintained so as to afford safe passage under normal use and weather
conditions.
E.
Yards, courts and vacant lots shall be kept clean and free of physical
hazards, rodent harborage and infestation.
A.
GRAFFITI
STRUCTURES
SUBSTANTIAL DETERIORATION
Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any unauthorized inscription, word, figure, painting or other
defacement that is written, marked, etched, scratched, sprayed, drawn,
painted or engraved on or otherwise affixed to any surface of public
or private property by a device capable of leaving a visible mark.
[Added 4-17-2001, effective 4-30-2001]
Includes accessory structures.
A status of either general dilapidation or specific instances
of disrepair, including but not limited to substantial conditions
of peeling, chipping, cracking, splintering, fraying, warping, crumbling,
rusting, corroding, rotting or perforation.
B.
General maintenance. Exterior and interior surfaces, including but
not limited to foundations, roofs, floors, walls, ceilings, doors,
windows and fixtures of buildings and structures, shall be maintained:
C.
Supplied items. In leased premises where appliances or furnishings are supplied by the lessor, in whole or in part, the provisions of Subsection B above shall apply to such items.
D.
Exterior surfaces.
(1)
Periodic treatment. In addition, exterior surfaces of buildings and
structures that are not inherently resistant to substantial deterioration
shall be periodically treated with a protective coating of paint or
other suitable preservative when necessary.
(2)
Conformity. Materials used for repair of exterior surfaces of buildings
and structures, including, but not limited to, foundations, roofs,
walls, windows, doors, stairs, columns, and chimneys, shall be of
like nature, grade and quality as the existing surface, provided that
in the replacement of an entire exterior surface, materials of a different
nature may be used.
E.
Owner's duty. It shall be the responsibility of the owner to
restore any surface marred by graffiti to a clean state of maintenance
and repair within a reasonable time. If the graffiti is not addressed
for an extended period of time, the Commissioner may order the removal
of the graffiti.
[Added 4-17-2001, effective 4-30-2001]
(1)
Noncompliance. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Permit
and Inspection Services or his or her designee to see that the provisions
of this section are enforced. Where violations of this section exist,
the Commissioner shall notify the owner of such land of the violation.
Such notice shall give the owner 10 days to comply with this article.
Such notice may be mailed by first class mail to the owner's
last known address. In the alternative, the notice may be personally
served upon the owner by delivering the notice to the owner or by
delivering the notice to a person of suitable age and discretion at
the owner's residence or place of business.
(2)
After service of the notice, if the property shows no sign of restoration, the Commissioner of Permit and Inspection Services shall engage the services of a private contractor to perform the necessary work. The Commissioner of Permit and Inspection Services shall charge and bill the owner for the cost of such services. In his or her discretion, the Commissioner may assign City personnel to do the work, in which case a charge as provided in Chapter 175, Fees, shall be made.
A.
Grounds, buildings and structures shall be maintained free of insects,
vermin and rodent harborage and infestation. Methods used for exterminating
insects, vermin and rodents shall conform to generally accepted practice.
B.
Where the potential for rodent or vermin infestation exists, windows
and other openings in basements, crawl spaces and cellars used for
ventilation shall be appropriately screened with wire mesh or other
suitable materials.
C.
All exterior openings that are used for ventilation in all occupied
rented dwelling units, up to and including the third story, shall
have installed therein screening of No. 15 mesh or finer from June
1 to October 1 in each year. In any dwelling where mechanical ventilation
is supplied, screens shall only be required in areas using natural
ventilation. No screens shall be required in upper stories of any
dwellings which are free, due to height, of mosquitoes, flies and
other insects. All screens shall be maintained in good condition.
A.
Adequate sanitary facilities and methods shall be used for the collection,
storage, handling and disposal of garbage and refuse in accordance
with the provisions of the Code of the City of Buffalo and also the
following:
(1)
In any dwelling containing two or more living units, it shall be
prohibited to store or accumulate garbage or rubbish of any type in
any public hall or stairway.
(2)
Every dwelling shall be provided with adequate covered containers
of nondestructible and noncombustible material, and every occupant
shall dispose of all garbage or rubbish in a clean and sanitary manner.
(3)
Every dwelling shall be provided with adequate garbage disposal facilities
or covered containers of noncombustible and nondestructible material
for garbage.
(4)
No person shall place ashes, garbage, rubbish, filth, urine or fecal
matter in any place in any dwelling other than the place provided
therefor nor keep any such matter in his apartment or upon his premises
or in his dwelling area such length of time as to create a nuisance.
B.
It shall be the duty of every owner of all multiple dwellings to
provide proper, suitable and convenient receptacles or containers
as outlined above, and it shall be the duty of all tenants of one-
and two-family dwellings to provide the above-required receptacles
or containers where suitable and proper garbage disposal systems are
not available.
C.
Garbage chutes other than those directly connected to an incinerator
shall be prohibited. All existing garbage chutes that are not directly
connected to incinerators shall either be removed or all openings
to the same permanently sealed.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 341-10, Domestic animals
and pets, was repealed 7-20-2004, effective 8-2-2004.
[Amended 7-20-2004, effective 8-2-2004; 7-28-2009, effective 8-7-2009]
[Added 7-28-2009, effective 8-7-2009]
It shall be lawful for any person to keep, permit or allow any
domesticated chicken hens in any residential district under the following
terms and conditions and after having received a license to keep said
chicken hens from the City Clerk as prescribed herein under the following
terms and conditions:
A.
No more than five chicken hens shall be allowed for each single-family
dwelling or multifamily dwelling.
B.
No chicken hens shall be allowed in multifamily complexes, including
duplexes, without the expressed written consent of the owner of the
building and all tenants residing in the building other than the applicant.
C.
No chicken hens shall be allowed without the express written consent
of all residents residing on property adjacent to that of the applicant.
D.
No roosters shall be allowed.
E.
Chicken hens are to be restricted to the rear or backyard of any
lot in a residential zoning district or the rear or backyard of a
residential use in all other zoning districts.
F.
Chicken hens shall be kept as pets and for personal use only; no
person shall sell eggs or meat or engage in chicken breeding or fertilizer
production for commercial purposes.
G.
Persons wishing to keep chicken hens within the City of Buffalo must obtain a license from the Office of the City Clerk after payment of an annual fee of $25, and after inspection and approval of the coop and cage that chicken hens are to be kept in by an Animal Control Officer, pursuant to § 341-11.4 hereof.
[Added 7-28-2009, effective 8-7-2009]
The application for such license shall include the following
information:
A.
The name, phone number and property address of the applicant;
B.
The location of the subject property;
C.
The size of the subject property;
D.
The number of chicken hens the applicant seeks to keep on the property;
E.
A description of any coops or cages that will house the chicken hens,
together with a description of any fencing, barriers or enclosures
surrounding the curtilage of the property;
F.
A scaled drawing showing the precise location of cages, coops, enclosures,
fences and barriers in relation to property lines and to structures
on adjacent properties;
G.
A description of the manner by which feces and other waste materials
will be removed from the property or will be treated so as not to
result in unsanitary conditions or in the attraction of rodents and
insects;
H.
A signed statement from the property owner, if the applicant is not
the property owner, granting the applicant permission to engage in
the keeping of chicken hens as described in the license application;
I.
A signed statement from any and all tenants of the building that
they consent to the applicant's keeping of chicken hens on the
premises;
J.
A signed statement from any resident residing on a property adjacent
to the applicant's property consenting to the applicant's
keeping of chicken hens on the premises;
K.
The addresses of all properties within a fifty-foot radius of the
subject property.
[Added 7-28-2009, effective 8-7-2009]
A.
Setbacks.
(1)
The coops or cages housing such chicken hens must be situated
at least 20 feet from any door or window of a dwelling, school, church
or other occupied structure other than the applicant's dwelling.
(2)
The coops or cages housing such chicken hens may not be located
in front or side street yard areas and shall not be located within
five feet of a side yard lot line nor within 18 inches of a rear yard
lot line, except where the rear lot line forms the side lot or front
lot line of an abutting property, in which case the setback from such
rear lot line shall be five feet. No chicken hens shall be kept in
front yard or side street yard areas.
B.
Enclosures/coops and cages.
(1)
The chicken hens shall be kept within both a coop and a fenced
outdoor enclosure.
(2)
The chicken hens must be kept in the coop and fenced outdoor
enclosure at all times and shall not be allowed to run free in the
fenced outdoor enclosure unless a responsible individual, over 18
years of age, is directly monitoring said activity and is able to
immediately respond should said chickens need to be returned to their
individual cages.
(3)
The chicken coop shall be a covered, predator resistant, well
ventilated structure providing a minimum of two square feet per chicken
hen.
(4)
The outdoor enclosure shall be adequately fenced to contain
the chicken hens and to protect the chicken hens from predators.
(5)
The coop must be kept in a clean, dry and sanitary condition
at all times.
(6)
The outdoor enclosure shall be cleaned on a regular basis to
prevent the accumulation of animal waste.
(7)
The total area of all coops or cages on a lot shall not be greater
than 32 square feet for up to five chicken hens. Coops and cages,
singly or in combination, shall not exceed seven feet in height.
(8)
The chicken feed or other food used to feed the chicken hens
shall be stored in a rat-proof, fastened container stored within a
structure, which shall only be unfastened for the retrieval of food
and immediately re-fastened thereafter.
(9)
The chicken hens shall be fed only from an approved trough.
Scattering of food on the ground is prohibited.
C.
Sanitation and nuisances.
(1)
Chicken hens shall be kept only in conditions that limit odors
and noise and the attraction of insects and rodents so as not to cause
a nuisance to occupants of nearby buildings or properties and to comply
with applicable provisions of both the New York State and Erie County
sanitary codes.
(2)
Chicken hens shall not be kept in a manner that is injurious
or unhealthful to any animals being kept on the property.
D.
Slaughtering. There shall be no outdoor slaughtering of chicken hens.
[Added 7-28-2009, effective 8-7-2009]
A.
Initial review.
(1)
Upon receipt of a chicken license application and the requisite
license fee, the City Clerk shall immediately notify the Office of
Animal Control of said application, including the number of chicken
hens sought to be licensed and the location of the proposed chicken
coop or cages.
(2)
The City Clerk shall immediately notify those property owners
who own the properties within 50 feet of the applicant's property
and provide them with an opportunity to provide written comments as
to their support or opposition to the proposed chicken coop.
(3)
The Common Council of the City of Buffalo and the Office of
the Mayor shall also immediately be notified of the chicken license
application.
(4)
If the City Clerk receives no written comments evidencing opposition
to or concern regarding the proposed chicken coop within 20 days of
receipt of the application, he or she shall issue a license for up
to five chicken hens to the applicant that shall be nontransferable
and valid for one year from the date of a satisfactory inspection
of an Animal Control Officer, which shall be subject to the renewal
provisions set forth below.
(5)
If the City Clerk receives written comments evidencing opposition
to the proposed chicken coop and cage within 20 days of receipt of
the application, he or she shall file with the Common Council the
complete chicken license application and all comments received regarding
the application for its consideration thereof.
(6)
The Common Council shall determine, in its discretion, and taking
into account the entire record before it, whether or not a chicken
license shall be issued to the applicant. The Common Council shall
be empowered to impose further conditions on the license that it deems
to be necessary to preserve the public health, safety and/or welfare.
(7)
Upon the approval of a majority of the Common Council, the Mayor
shall take action on the license application in accordance with City
Charter § 3-19.
(9)
After completion of the inspection by an Animal Control Officer
and confirmation that the coop conforms to the specifications provided
in the application approved by the City Clerk, the licensee shall
be allowed to keep the number of chicken hens specified in the license
on the premises.
(10)
A license issued to an applicant shall include the licensee's
proper name, the property address for which the license is valid,
the number of chicken hens allowed at the property address, a unique
license number, the date the license was issued, an expiration date
exactly one year from the date of issuance and any conditions imposed
by the Common Council.
(11)
Only one chicken license shall be issued per applicant and per
property. No licensee shall be eligible to obtain a chicken license
for multiple properties, nor shall more than one license be issued
to one property address.
B.
Renewal.
(1)
On the first day of May of every year, the City Clerk shall
file with and notify the Common Council, the Office of the Mayor and
the Department of Permits and Inspection Services of all chicken hen
licenses issued in the prior year, including the names of the licensees,
their property addresses, the number of chicken hens licensed at said
property and the issuance and expiration dates of said licenses.
(2)
On or before June 1 of every year, the Common Council, the Office
of the Mayor or any other interested party shall file complaints received
regarding licensed chicken hens.
(3)
Any complaints received regarding any particular chicken license
issued shall be considered at a meeting of the Committee on Legislation,
at which the licensee and any other interested party shall have the
right to be heard concerning said license.
(4)
The Common Council may, in its discretion, not renew any chicken
license for any reason after the licensee and any other interested
party has been given an opportunity to be heard.
(6)
If, at any time, the Common Council is made aware of any complaints regarding a properly licensed chicken coop, it may proceed to hear the complaints of any interested party and the defense of the licensee at a meeting of its Legislation Committee and may revoke the license issued for any reason pursuant to § 341-11.4A(7) hereof.
(7)
If a license is renewed pursuant to the provisions hereof, the
applicant may continue to keep chicken hens pursuant to the terms
and conditions set forth herein and imposed in the initial license,
provided that he or she pays the annual fee of $25 on or before the
expiration date of the license.
A.
Buildings and structures shall be maintained in such condition so
that they shall not become an unoccupied hazard as defined in this
chapter.
B.
Any buildings in the condition of an unoccupied hazard, as defined
in this chapter, shall be repaired, improved and maintained so as
to eliminate the conditions creating an unoccupied hazard, as defined
in this chapter, or demolished, and all refuse, rubbish and debris
caused by such demolition shall be removed from the premises except
acceptable fill which may be used in excavations. The area formerly
covered by any building that has been removed or demolished shall
be graded to the level of the lot.
Whenever the Department shall find an unoccupied or partly unoccupied
building which has openings, including but not limited to doors, doorways,
windows and window openings, through which children, trespassers or
other unauthorized persons may make entry to the building, then this
section shall apply.
A.
Notice; sealing requirements.
(1)
Notice. The Department shall serve a notice in writing upon the owner by one of the methods provided for in Chapter 103, Article II, directing the owner to complete the work of enclosing the building as shall be specified in said notice within four days of service of such notice. Said notice shall also inform the owner of the date and place of a hearing, at which time the owner or his duly designated representative may present evidence and testimony on the question of the necessity of the City causing said premises to be boarded. Said notice shall further inform the owner that upon failure by the owner either to complete the enclosing of the building or to appear at the hearing, the City of Buffalo shall have the right to enclose the building and that all costs and expenses incurred by the City will be recovered by action or by local assessment, or both.
(2)
Permissible materials. Such openings as the Department shall specify
in said notice for enclosure shall be enclosed with one-half-inch
or thicker weatherproof plywood or other weatherproof material which
will secure the building in an equivalent manner. All such plywood
or other material must be painted.
(3)
Screen/storm windows. The owner may, in the alternative, enclose
such openings with screen/storm window combinations, provided that
said storm windows are made with unbreakable glass or plastic.
(4)
Fastening. Such enclosures shall be fastened to the building so as
to secure them from removal by unauthorized persons.
(5)
Appearance. Such enclosures shall be properly fitted and be of such
material and surface that they are neither unsightly nor will materially
detract from the general appearance of the building and neighborhood.
B.
Hearing. If the owner or his duly designated representative appears
at the time and place specified in the aforementioned notice to contest
the necessity of the City causing the subject premises to be boarded,
a hearing on such question shall be held before the Commissioner or
his representative. As a result of such hearing, the original notice
directing the enclosing of the subject premises may be affirmed, modified
or vacated, but if the notice is modified, the time in which to complete
enclosure shall not be extended for more than three days. The owner
shall be informed of the result of the hearing.
C.
Abatement by City upon owner's failure to comply. If the owner
shall fail to comply with a notice to enclose within the period specified
in such notice or shall fail to comply with such a notice as modified
as a result of a hearing having been had, the City shall perform or
cause such work to be performed and may recover the expense either
by action or by local assessment on the premises made, levied and
collected as other local assessments or both. In such event, unless
the City shall perform such work, the Department shall secure at least
three bids on such work of enclosure; and whenever the work to be
performed under contract entails an expenditure of more than $7,000,
there shall be formal advertising for bids.
D.
Statement of intention. In no event shall such building or structure remain unoccupied and closed in for a period in excess of two months from the date of the notice specified in Subsection A hereof unless the owner has first filed a statement of intention to either demolish or rehabilitate said building or structure with the Department of Inspections and Licenses and has been granted written approval for an extension of time to rehabilitate or to demolish the building or structure by said Department. The owner must obtain all required permits within four months from the date of filing a statement of intention as aforementioned. Such statement of intention shall expire and shall be of no further force or effect upon the passing of four months from the date of its filing with the Department. For purposes of this section, determination of the Department, relative to the condition of a building being practicable for rehabilitation, shall be determined on the basis of cost for rehabilitating the building and shall not exceed 50% of the worth of the building exclusive of value of land and foundation.
E.
Alternative measures to remain available. The provisions of this
section shall not be deemed to impair or affect the availability of
any other enforcement measures or remedies afforded by law.
[Added 7-22-1997, effective 8-5-1997; amended 1-21-2003, effective 2-4-2003]
A.
When the Commissioner determines that the owner or agent of record
for real property within the City has not complied with the standards
of this chapter or other standards or laws for the construction, replacement
or repair of buildings, the Commissioner shall immediately serve notice
upon that owner or agent of record as provided below and may have
erected a sign with the text stated below on the public right-of-way
adjacent to the subject structure. The sign is in addition to any
and all remedies available to the City in state law, City Charter
or ordinance regarding property maintenance, building and fire codes
and notwithstanding any fine or penalty imposed pursuant to provisions
of this chapter or other law. The owner or agent of record determined
to be in violation shall be personally liable for the cost of purchasing,
erecting and dismantling the sign, as well as the costs of any repair,
demolition or other related work performed by the City of Buffalo
where it is necessary for the City to cause said work to be done.
B.
Such notice shall contain a description of the premises; a statement of the particulars of the code violations; a statement that, if such owner or agent of record so served shall fail to commence code compliance within 10 days from service of said notice, the City of Buffalo shall have the right to post a sign as provided for in this section on the right-of-way immediately adjacent to that owner's property; a statement describing the text of sign as provided in Subsection G below; a statement that the sign once erected will be dismantled upon satisfactory compliance with the code by the owner or agent, the place and return date for a hearing on the violations; and a statement that the costs of enforcement, including, but not limited to, the costs of purchasing, erecting and dismantling the sign if erected, will be the personal liability of the owner or agent.
C.
The notice aforementioned shall also contain the time and place at
which a hearing will be granted before the Commissioner to the owner
or agent of record described in the notice, at which time and place
the owner or agent shall be afforded the opportunity to present testimony
and evidence regarding the conditions of the property, with reference
to those particulars contained in the aforementioned notice.
D.
The aforementioned notice by the Commissioner shall be served in
either of the following manners:
(1)
Personally upon the owner or agent of record; or
(2)
By registered mail, in a securely fastened, postpaid wrapper, addressed
to the owner, at that owner's last known place of address as
shown by the records of the Department of Assessment and Taxation,
the Director of the Treasury or the Clerk of the County of Erie and
by posting a copy of the notice on the premises involved.
E.
After service of the aforementioned notice, a subsequent inspection
shall be performed. If, after the third subsequent inspection is performed,
the owner has not performed the required repairs, the Commissioner
of Permit and Inspection Services then has the option to have erected
a sign described in this section.
F.
The time of said hearing shall be specified on a date no sooner than
five days after service of the notice and no later than the 10th day
after service thereof.
G.
The sign mentioned in Subsection A above shall be at least 18 inches in height by 24 inches in width, mounted on two standards of sufficient integrity to withstand normal wind loads. The sign shall be mounted on the standards at a height of no more than 42 inches from existing grade so as not to hamper the line of sight for pedestrians and motor vehicles. This sign shall have a white background with black lettering stating the following: "This property is contributing to the spread of slum and blight in the City of Buffalo.
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"This property is owned by _________ (name of owner or agent),
who resides at _________ (address of record), in the City/Town/Village
of _________, State of _______. If further information is needed,
the owner of this structure may be contacted at ________ (owner's
telephone number).
| |
|---|---|
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"This sign has been erected by the City of Buffalo as a public
service in the war against slums and blight."
|
H.
The sign shall remain erected as long as the Commissioner deems appropriate.
The Commissioner may have the sign dismantled once the Commissioner
is satisfied that the violation leading to posting of the sign has
been abated and that the owner or agent of record complies
with relevant code provisions.
I.
The owner or agent of record shall file with the Department of Assessment and Taxation a written statement showing his or her current name, address, and telephone number. The address given shall not be a post office box. Failure to provide such information shall subject the owner or agent of record to a fine as provided in § 137-7.
J.
COMMISSIONER
OWNER OR AGENT OF RECORD
Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms or
words shall have the meaning and effect as follows:
The Commissioner of Permit and Inspection Services or designee.
Any owner of real property or premises within the City as
indicated within the records of the Department of Assessment and Taxation
obtained pursuant to City Charter Sections 28-4 and 28-5 or from other
sources, the Director of the Treasury, other City records or the Clerk
of the County of Erie or any other person who has agreed to be the
owner's agent.
