[Adopted 4-28-1964 as G.O. No. 19-1964; amended in its entirety 7-1-1986 by G.O. No.
10-1986]
It shall be the duty of every owner of any lot or parcel of
land in the City of Yonkers to keep and preserve the same, at all
times, clean and inoffensive and to prevent the accumulation of any
garbage, rubbish, refuse, inoperable motor vehicle or other matter
not indigenous to such parcel of land and to prevent the accumulation
thereon of any of the items herein specified and also to keep said
lot or parcel of land free from any overgrowth of weeds, brush and
other baneful plants.
A.
The location or presence of any inoperable motor vehicle or vehicles
or any abandoned vehicle or vehicles, as defined by § 1224
of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, on any lot, tract, parcel of land
or portion thereof, improved or unimproved, within the
City shall be deemed a public nuisance.
B.
This section shall not apply to a vehicle or part thereof which is
completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it
is not visible from the street or other public or private property;
a vehicle or part thereof which is stored or parked in a lawful manner
on private property in connection with the business of a licensed
dismantler, a licensed vehicle dealer or a licensed junkyard; or inoperable
vehicles stored on private property; provided, however, that the vehicles
and outdoor storage areas are maintained in such a manner that they
do not constitute a health or safety hazard or act as a public nuisance.
In case any lot or parcel of land shall, at any time, in the
judgment of the Commissioner of Public Works, require cleaning as
aforesaid, the Commissioner of Public Works shall serve a notice,
either personally or by certified mail, upon the owner and/or the
person who pays the taxes on said lot or parcel and the person, if
known, who owns the nonindigenous property to be removed, requiring
said person or persons, within five days, from service of such notice,
except if a motor vehicle, then notice as provided by § 1224
of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, to clean said lot or parcel of land
and to remove therefrom any item not indigenous to said lot or parcel
of land and to cut down or remove any overgrowth of weeds, brush and
other baneful plants.
A.
The Commissioner of Public Works shall serve a notice, either with the notice set forth in § 69-11 or separately, that a request for a hearing may be made by the owner of said property. The requirement of this section shall be limited to notices sent requesting removal of items not indigenous to the property sent pursuant to §§ 69-10 and 69-11.
B.
C.
A hearing prior to the removal of said property is to be held before
the Commissioner of Public Works or a designated officer at a time,
date and place set by written notice to the owner, sent by regular
mail not less than five nor more than 20 days after service of a request
for a hearing.
D.
If it is determined at a hearing that the vehicle is a nuisance or
upon the owner's default, an order requiring the removal of the
property or cleaning the property within 10 days shall be issued.
Said order shall include a description of the property and, if a motor
vehicle, the vehicle identification and license plate, if available.
If any owner of any lot or parcel of land in the City of Yonkers
neglects or refuses to clean the same within the time limited therefor,
the Commissioner of Public Works shall clean such lot or parcel of
land in such manner as he shall deem proper and suitable.
The Commissioner of Public Works shall file a certificate of the expenses for cleaning as set forth in § 69-13 hereof, together with a description of the refuse removed from said lot or parcel of land, with the Comptroller and with the City Assessor of the City of Yonkers and shall deliver either personally or by certified mail to the owner and/or the person who pays the taxes on said lot or parcel of land a bill for the expenses incurred. The aforesaid charges, if unpaid, shall become a lien upon said property, subject to collection as a tax thereon, after due notice to the owner and a hearing, if required by said owner, as to the justness of the costs.[2]
This Code provides additional protection for the City of Yonkers
against abandoned motor vehicles and is enacted, in part, to supplement
and effectuate the provisions of § 1224 of the Vehicle and
Traffic Law. No section of this Code shall be construed inconsistently
with § 1224 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
