Village of Roslyn, NY Secondhand Dealers

The Board of Trustees of the Incorporated Village of Roslyn finds that the business of buying and selling secondhand merchandise is rapidly expanding in the Village. In the past, these business operations were conducted without any regulation by the Village. This situation creates an ideal scenario for persons to dispose of stolen property and thus is destructive of the property rights of the citizens of the Village and it impedes the police agencies of the county in their attempt to stem the tide of larcenies and burglaries. Therefore, the Village Board of Trustees concludes that it is in the best interests of the citizens of the Village to enact a law regulating the operations of dealers of secondhand merchandise who conduct their business in the Incorporated Village of Roslyn.

DEALER IN SECONDHAND MERCHANDISE

It is hereafter the policy of the Incorporated Village of Roslyn that dealers in secondhand merchandise who conduct their business in the Village be subject to regulation and licensing by the Village and that they keep records of all their transactions so as to ensure that their businesses are not used to dispose of stolen property.

Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

ANTIQUE

Any article or merchandise which is more than 50 years old.

Any person who, in any way as principal, broker or agent:

Deals in the commercial purchase or sale of secondhand merchandise for any purpose;

Accepts or receives secondhand merchandise as returns of merchandise or in exchange for or for credits on any other articles of merchandise; or

Deals in the commercial purchase or sale of pawnbroker tickets or other evidence of pledged articles.

POLICE

The Nassau County Police Department.

SECONDHAND MERCHANDISE

Any item which shall have been previously used or purchased by a consumer, including old gold or other precious metals, coins, stamps or currency, firearms, cameras, business machines, musical instruments, outboard motors or electronic equipment, but shall not include:

Automobiles, pianos, books, magazines, rugs, tapestries, artists' burlaps, paintings, sculptures, drawings, etchings and engravings;

The first purchase or sale in the United States of any imported used item;

The acceptance or receipt of merchandise in a new or used condition as a return, exchange or for credit or refund, if such merchandise was originally purchased as new merchandise from the person accepting or receiving the same, or any resale of such merchandise as new merchandise or the first subsequent nonretail sale or exchange of such merchandise as used merchandise;

The first sale, at retail, of merchandise which has been rebuilt by the manufacturer or vendor originally manufacturing it, or the licensed agents thereof, and sold as factory-rebuilt merchandise;

Articles sold or acquired by a thrift shop, as defined to be so classified under the United States Internal Revenue Code, and entitled to an exemption as an eleemosynary corporation or institution; or

Antiques having a value of less than $250 and void of any serial numbers, monograms, initials or distinct markings.

§ 179-62 License required; application procedure.

License required. It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a dealer in secondhand merchandise within the Incorporated Village of Roslyn without first having obtained, and having in force, a license therefor as hereinafter provided.

Application for license. Applicants for a license shall file with the Village Clerk/Treasurer an application containing the following information:

The name and legal description of the applicant.

Individuals operating under an assumed trade name must attach a certified copy of the assumed name certificate filed in the Nassau County Clerk's office.

A partnership conducting a business, whether or not under an assumed name, must attach a certified copy of the partnership certificate filed in the Nassau County Clerk's office.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).

A corporation incorporated in the New York must attach a true copy of the filing receipt for the certificate of incorporation from the New York Secretary of State.

(d)

A corporation incorporated outside New York State must furnish a true copy of its certificate of authority to do business in New York State from the New York Secretary of State.

The local address of the applicant and the address of its principal place of business.

A statement that an individual applicant is of legal age.

A statement as to whether the applicant is a United States citizen, and, if citizenship was obtained by naturalization, the applicant must attach a true copy of the naturalization certificate or, if not a United States citizen, attach a true copy of his or her visa.

A statement as to whether or not the applicant or any partner or corporate officer has ever been convicted of any crime, misdemeanor or violation of any municipal law, the nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor and such other facts or evidence as the Village Clerk/Treasurer shall deem necessary to establish that the applicant is a person fit and capable of properly conducting the activity or business for which the license is sought.

A detailed description of the nature of the business the applicant intends to conduct.

(7)

The name and address of the landlord of the premises to be used for the conduct of the business and attach a copy of the lease for the premises.

(8)

Two photographs of the applicant, taken not more than 60 days prior to the filing of the application, which photographs shall be two by two inches, showing the head and shoulders of the applicant in a clear and distinguishing manner. Two photographs and fingerprints are required of each individual applicant, two photographs and fingerprints are required of each partner, and two photographs and fingerprints are required of each corporate officer and of any stockholder of 10% or more of the corporate stock. A copy of the applicant's fingerprints shall be mailed to the Division of Criminal Justice Services, Albany, New York, requesting a fingerprint search. The Village Clerk/Treasurer shall secure from the applicant the required fee in the form of a check or money order made payable to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.

(9)

If the applicant is a corporation, the name, address and title of the officer of the corporation upon whom process or other legal notice may be served.

(10)

A surety bond to the Village written by a surety licensed to do business in New York State in a form approved by the Village Clerk/Treasurer in the penal sum of $2,000, conditioned on the due observance of all laws relating to secondhand dealers.

License classification.

A general license shall authorize the licensee to act as a dealer with respect to all secondhand merchandise within the Incorporated Village of Roslyn during the license term specified in this section.

A management license shall authorize a licensee who is not a regular dealer in antiques to operate and manage an antiques exposition where such antiques are sold at any fair, show, exhibition or any place within the Incorporated Village of Roslyn during the license term specified by this section.

An exposition license shall authorize a dealer in antiques who maintains no place of business within the Incorporated Village of Roslyn to exhibit and sell such articles at any fair, show or exposition within the Incorporated Village of Roslyn during the license term specified by this section.

Term of license.

Every general license issued hereunder shall expire on December 31 next succeeding the date of its issuance, unless sooner revoked by the Village Clerk/Treasurer as hereinafter provided.

Every management or exposition license issued hereunder shall expire 30 days after its issuance, unless sooner revoked by the Village Clerk/Treasurer as hereinafter provided.

Issuance of license.

Upon receipt of a properly completed license application and bond by the Village Clerk/Treasurer and the payment of the prescribed fees required of the applicant, the Village Clerk/Treasurer shall prepare and deliver a license to the applicant.

The Village Clerk/Treasurer shall keep a record of all licenses issued.

If a license is granted by the Village Clerk/Treasurer, he or she shall prepare and deliver the license to the licensee. Such license shall state the name and address of the licensee, the date of its issuance, the classification of license issued pursuant to Subsection C and the expiration date of the license.

No license shall be granted under this article to any dealer in secondhand articles:

Who has been convicted of a crime;

Who has been found by any court of competent jurisdiction to have practiced any fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in the conduct of the secondhand dealer business;

Whose license under this article has been revoked at any time during the year prior to the time of the application for the license; or

(d)

Whose license has been suspended under this article and the period of such suspension has not expired at the time of this application for the license.

Additional information. The Village Clerk/Treasurer may, in his or her discretion, before the issuance of a license under Subsection E, require the applicant and any others having knowledge of the facts to submit to an examination under oath and to produce evidence relating thereto or hold a hearing upon such application as hereinafter provided.

Bond and fees.

A person securing a general license shall be required to:

Furnish a bond to the Incorporated Village of Roslyn in the penal sum of $2,000 per business location, conditioned upon the due observance of the provisions of this section, and file such bond with the Village Clerk/Treasurer.

Pay an annual license fee as established by resolution of the Board of Trustees.

A person securing a management license shall be required to:

Furnish a bond to the Incorporated Village of Roslyn in the penal sum of $10,000, conditioned upon the due observance of the provisions of this section by the licensee and any exhibitors at the exposition which the licensee is managing, and file such bond with the Village Clerk/Treasurer.

Pay the license fee as established by resolution of the Board of Trustees.

A person securing an exposition license shall be required to pay a fee as established by resolution of the Board of Trustees.

Renewal.

Any general license issued by the Village Clerk/Treasurer may be renewed annually for additional periods of one year each from the date of expiration upon the filing, at least 30 days prior to the expiration date of the current license, of an application containing all of the information required by the provisions of this section for original applications and the payment of the annual license fee.

A management or exposition license may be renewed for no more than two additional thirty-day periods upon the filing of an application containing all the information required by this section for original applications and the payment of the applicable license fee.

Transferability. A license granted pursuant to this section may not be transferred by the licensee to any other person.

§ 179-63 Suspension or revocation of license.

A license issued under the provisions of this article may be suspended or revoked by the Village Clerk/Treasurer or Mayor, after notice, for any of the following causes:

Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement contained in the application for the license;

Any violation of this article;

Conviction of any crime; or

Conducting the activity as a dealer in secondhand articles 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.

Notice of revocation or suspension of a license shall be given in writing, setting forth the grounds therefor. Such notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid, to the licensee at his last known address.

§ 179-64 Appeals.

Application for review. Any applicant who has been denied a license or who has been granted a license with conditions under this article by the Village Clerk/Treasurer or whose license has been suspended or revoked by the Village Clerk/Treasurer may apply to the Village Board of Trustees for a review of the action by the Village Clerk/Treasurer as hereinafter provided.

The application to review the Village Clerk/Treasurer's determination shall be in writing, signed and verified by the applicant, and shall state his or her reasons for claiming that the Village Clerk/Treasurer's determination was erroneous.

The application for such review must be filed with the Village Clerk/Treasurer by mail or in person within 20 days of the receipt by the applicant of the determination appealed from.

Upon the filing by the applicant of such application for review, the Village Board of Trustees or designated hearing officers shall hold a hearing thereon within 30 days from the filing of the application referred to above, pursuant to the provisions hereinafter set forth.

Hearing.

Whenever it shall be provided herein that a hearing may be held by the Village Board of Trustees, such hearing shall be held on a date and at a place and hour designated by the Village Board, but in no event shall this date exceed 30 days from the date of the filing of the application referred to in Subsection A.

The Village Clerk/Treasurer shall give notice thereof, stating the name and address of the applicant or licensee concerned, the subject matter of the hearing, and the date, place and hour designated therefor, by mailing a copy thereof to the applicant or licensee concerned at the address shown upon the most recent application of such applicant or licensee at least 10 days before such hearing.

At such hearing, the Village Board shall consider the application before it in relation to the Village Clerk/Treasurer's determination, and, in its discretion, the Village Board may receive new or additional evidence in support of or in opposition to the determination under review.

The applicant or licensee involved shall be entitled to be represented by legal counsel and to present such competent and material testimony or other evidence on his or her own behalf as may be relevant to the subject matter of the hearing.

All witnesses shall be sworn and examined under oath.

Decision of Board.

The Village Board of Trustees, after such hearing, may grant, modify, refuse, restore or revoke such license.

The applicant, after exhausting his or her administrative remedies, as stated above, may seek review of the Board of Trustees' decision pursuant to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.

§ 179-65 Regulations for dealers.

Display of license. A licensee shall place the license at all times in a conspicuous location at the licensee's place of activity or business for which the license was issued.

Records of purchases and sales.

Every dealer in secondhand merchandise shall keep a bound book of consecutively numbered transactions, in a form prescribed by the Nassau County Police Department, in which shall be legibly written, in English, at the time of every purchase or sale to or from a person other than another licensed dealer in secondhand merchandise, the following:

A description of every article of secondhand merchandise purchased or sold.

The serial number or numbers and any monograms, inscriptions or other marks of identification that may appear on such article.

A description of the articles or pieces comprising old gold, silver, platinum, other metals or coins, stamps or currency and any monogram, inscription or marks of identification thereon.

(d)

The name, residence address and signature of the person from whom such purchase was made or to whom the merchandise was sold, the day and hour of the purchase or sale and the nature of the identifying document exhibited.

Every dealer in secondhand merchandise who receives secondhand merchandise on consignment shall keep a record, in the above-prescribed book, describing the merchandise and the name and description of the person or dealer who consigned such merchandise.

Transactions between dealers in secondhand merchandise shall also be recorded in the above-prescribed book in the same manner as heretofore described.

The books shall be kept on the business premises of the licensee or at the place designated on the license at all times during normal business hours. Such books shall be open to inspection by:

Any police officer;

The chief administrative officer of the Nassau County Police Department or a person duly authorized in writing by such appropriate police agency to inspect such books; or

Any enforcement officer duly appointed by the Mayor subject to approval of the Board of Trustees.

Every dealer in secondhand merchandise who purchases antiques in bulk shall keep a record of such purchases in the bound book, and all identifiable antiques which are part of the bulk purchase shall be entered individually in the ledger book and reported individually to the appropriate police agency within 72 hours after such bulk purchase.

Every licensed dealer of secondhand merchandise shall permit representatives of the Nassau County Police Department or the enforcement officer to inspect all rooms and merchandise on the premises designated on the license of the dealer during regular business hours when such inspection is requested by a representative of the Police Department or enforcement officer.

Reports to Nassau County Police Department. Every dealer in secondhand articles, upon being served with a written notice by a member of the Nassau County Police Department, shall report to the Police Department a summary of the records required to be kept under this article with regard to all goods, articles or things purchased, received or sold in the course of business of the secondhand dealer during the days specified in such notice.

Lost or stolen property.

Dealer to give information to Nassau County Police Department.

If any articles, goods or things shall be advertised in any newspaper as having been lost or stolen, and if any articles, goods or things answering such advertised description or any part thereof shall be in or come into the possession of any dealer in secondhand articles, upon receiving actual notice, written or verbal, of the similarity of description of such articles, goods or things, such secondhand dealer shall immediately give information relating thereto to the Nassau County Police Department or its authorized agent.

No disposition of such articles, goods or things shall be effected until written authorization to do so shall be given to such secondhand dealer by the Nassau County Police Department or its authorized agent.

A dealer in secondhand articles, when notified by the Nassau County Police Department or its authorized agent that property in the possession of the secondhand dealer is stolen or alleged to be stolen, shall take immediate steps to secure that property, and it shall be marked "police stop." Thereafter, such property shall not be sold or removed from the premises until notification is made to the secondhand dealer, in writing, by the Nassau County Police Department or its authorized agent allowing such removal or sale.

Every dealer in secondhand articles who shall have or receive any article alleged or supposed to have been lost or stolen shall exhibit the same, on demand, to the Nassau County Police Department, to any police officer or to any person duly authorized in writing by the Nassau County Police Department to examine such articles.

Identity of person from whom purchase is made.

It shall be the duty of every dealer in secondhand merchandise to verify the identity of every person from whom he or she purchases secondhand merchandise and to make and keep a written record of the nature of the evidence submitted by such person to prove his or her identity.

Only the following shall be deemed acceptable evidence of identity:

Any official document, except a social security account number card, issued by the United States government, any state, county, municipality or subdivision thereof, 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; or

Other identification documentation which, under the circumstances of any particular purchase, would lead a reasonable person to believe that such identification is accurate and reliable, when identification under Subsection E(2)(a) hereof is not available.

It shall be the duty of every dealer in secondhand merchandise to require that every person from whom secondhand merchandise is purchased sign his or her name in the presence of the dealer, and the dealer shall compare the signature with the signature on the identifying document, if any, and retain on his or her premises the seller's signature together with the number and description of the identifying document.

Signs and labels. Every dealer in secondhand merchandise who also sells new merchandise within the licensed premises shall label all secondhand merchandise in such manner that the public will be informed of the secondhand nature of such merchandise.

§ 179-66 Disclaimer of liability; restrictions; enforcement.

Disclaimer of liability. This article shall not create any liability on the part of the Incorporated Village of Roslyn, its officers, agents or employees, or the officers, agents and employees of the Nassau County Police Department, for any act or damage caused as a result of reliance on this article or any administrative decision lawfully made thereunder.

Restrictions.

No dealer in secondhand articles shall carry on business without a license or at any other place than the one designated in his or her license.

No dealer in secondhand articles shall purchase or receive any secondhand goods, articles or things whatsoever between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

No articles, goods or things purchased or received by a secondhand dealer shall be sold or disposed of by the secondhand dealer until the expiration of 15 days after purchase or redemption thereof.

No dealer in secondhand articles, while licensed as such, shall be licensed as a pawnbroker or junk dealer; nor shall any sign or other device or subterfuge be displayed, used or employed by any dealer in secondhand articles, in or about the premises where such business is conducted, which in any way resembles the emblem or sign commonly used by pawnbrokers or which is intended to give appearance that the business conducted on such premises is, or is connected with, the business of a pawnbroker and calculated to so mislead; nor shall there be any sign displayed which is calculated to deceive.

No dealer in secondhand articles shall continue to carry on business after his or her license is suspended, revoked or shall have expired.