[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Yonkers 12-27-1991 by G.O. No. 19-1991. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to establish standards for emergency
reporting equipment, systems and procedures and thereby maintain proper
and reliable alarm systems and limit unnecessary emergency responses
to false alarms by the City of Yonkers Police and Fire Departments.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall
apply:
Any individual who is employed by a business licensee and
whose duties include operating, selling, maintaining, leasing, servicing,
repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing, in or on any
building, place or premises, any police or fire alarm system.
A notification intended to summon the Police or Fire Department,
which is designed to be initiated purposely by a person or by an alarm
system that responds to a stimulus characteristic of smoke, fire,
a criminal act or other emergency.
A Board consisting of the Police Commissioner, the Fire Commissioner
and the Corporation Counsel, or their designees.
Any police or fire alarm system, or combination thereof,
installed on or within a single building, place or premises at a specific
location.
A device which emits, transmits or relays a signal intended
to summon or that would reasonably be expected to summon police or
fire services. An "alarm system" does not include a device installed
in a vehicle, unless the vehicle is permanently located at an alarm
site.
A telephone answering service that includes the service whereby
trained employees receive prerecorded voice messages from automatic
protection devices reporting an emergency at a stated location and
then relay immediately by live voice any such emergency over a special
trunkline to the communications center of the Police or Fire Department.
Any person in the business of owning, operating, selling,
maintaining, leasing, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving
or installing police or fire alarm systems or providing answering
service within the City of Yonkers and authorized to engage in such
business under the provisions of this chapter.
Any facility operated by a private firm that owns or leases
a system of police or fire alarm devices, which facility is manned
by operators who receive, record or validate alarm signals and relay
information about such validated signals to the communications center
of the Police or Fire Department, when appropriate.
Any alarm system connected by telephone wires to the communications
center of the Police or Fire Department.
An alarm notification when the responding Police or Fire
Department personnel find no evidence of smoke, fire, criminal activity,
attempted criminal activity or an emergency. A "false alarm notification"
will not include alarms resulting from or during electrical storms,
hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards and other acts of God; electrical
power disruption or failure; and disruptions of the telephone circuits
beyond the control of the alarm agent, licensee or permit holder.
The Commissioner of the City of Yonkers Fire Department.
The City of Yonkers Fire Department.
The City Clerk of the City of Yonkers or his/her designee.
The activation of an alarm system in such a manner that indicates
a situation of immediate and emergent nature, such as a medical emergency
or a crime in progress.
The person designated in the permit application as required
by this chapter who is responsible for responding to alarms and giving
access to the alarm installation site and who is responsible for proper
maintenance and operation of the alarm system and payment of fees.
Any individual, corporation, firm, partnership, association,
organization or similar entity.
The Commissioner of the City of Yonkers Police Department.
The City of Yonkers Police Department.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Police or Fire Department that is for the primary purpose of receiving
emergency messages that originate from automatic protection devices
and are transmitted directly or through an alarm monitoring company.
A.
No person shall own, operate, sell, maintain, install, lease, service,
repair, alter, replace, move or install any police or fire alarm systems
as a business or provide answering service as a business within the
City of Yonkers without a license issued pursuant to this chapter.
B.
No alarm agent shall operate, sell, maintain, lease, service, repair,
alter, replace, move or install any police or fire alarm systems or
provide answering service within the City of Yonkers without a license
issued pursuant to this chapter.
A.
A person in the business of owning, operating, selling, maintaining,
leasing, servicing, replacing, repairing, altering, moving or installing
police or fire alarm systems or in the business of providing answering
service within the City of Yonkers shall apply to the licensing authority
for a business license pursuant to the procedure and application established
by the licensing authority and this chapter.
B.
A person desiring to act as an alarm agent within the City of Yonkers
must apply to the licensing authority for an alarm agent license pursuant
to the procedure and application established by the licensing authority.
C.
The business license application and the alarm agent license application
shall contain information regarding the applicant, the alarm systems
involved in the business, the services provided by the business, the
procedures used by the business and all other information found necessary
and required by the licensing authority.
D.
The license holder is required to inform the licensing authority
of any change in the information listed in the license application
within two business days.
A.
Each license issued by the licensing authority shall be issued for
a one-year period.
A.
No person who owns or leases real property or any premises in the
City of Yonkers shall operate or cause to be operated an alarm system
without a permit issued pursuant to this chapter for each alarm system.
B.
A violation of this section shall be forgiven if the violating party
applies for an alarm system permit within five business days of notice
of the violation.
A.
A person who owns or leases real property or any premises in the
City of Yonkers and operates or causes to be operated an alarm system
shall apply to the licensing authority for an alarm system permit
pursuant to the procedures and application established by the licensing
authority and this chapter.
B.
The application for an alarm system permit shall include the following
information:
(1)
The name, address and telephone number of the permit holder and of
the person responsible for maintenance and operation of the alarm
system.
(2)
A classification of the alarm site as being either residential, commercial
or apartment.
(3)
The address of the alarm site and, if classified as commercial, the
name of the commercial entity.
(4)
The location of each alarm system located at the alarm site.
(5)
The purpose for each alarm located at the alarm site, i.e., burglary,
robbery, fire, etc.
(6)
Any other information required by the Police Department, the Fire
Department or the licensing authority.
C.
The permit holder is required to inform the licensing authority of
any change in the information listed on the permit application within
two business days.
A.
Each alarm system permit issued by the licensing authority shall
be issued for a one-year period.
A.
A license or permit issued by the licensing authority under this
chapter may be suspended or revoked by the licensing authority for
the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or any regulations
or conditions established by the Police Commissioner, the Fire Commissioner
or the licensing authority. No part of a license or permit fee shall
be refunded when a license or permit is suspended or revoked.
B.
No license or permit may be transferred to another person.
A license and permit must be renewed every year by submitting
an updated application and the required fee to the licensing authority.
It is the responsibility of the license holder or the permit holder
to submit for renewal prior to the expiration date.
A.
A permit holder or person in control of an alarm system shall:
(1)
Maintain the alarm system and the alarm site in a manner that will
minimize or eliminate false alarm notifications.
(2)
Respond or cause his representative to respond at an alarm site,
within a reasonable period of time after notification from the City
of Yonkers to deactivate an alarm system, to provide access or to
provide security.
(3)
Maintain at each alarm site a complete set of written operations
and instructions for each alarm system at the site. Such instructions
shall not include special codes, combinations or passwords.
B.
An alarm system shall be programmed or adjusted to sound for no longer
than 15 minutes after being activated.
C.
An alarm system shall be programmed or adjusted so that, upon activation
of the alarm system, the system will not transmit or remit another
alarm without first being manually reset.
D.
No permit holder or person shall conduct any test or demonstration
of any police or fire alarm system without obtaining the permission
of the Commissioner appropriate to the alarm system.
E.
An alarm user permit decal issued to the permit holder shall be visibly
displayed on the front or main door of the protected premises.
F.
It shall be a violation of this chapter to intentionally cause a
false alarm notification.
A.
A person who is engaged in the business of relaying alarm notifications
to the communications center of the Police and Fire Departments shall:
B.
A person in control of an alarm site, other than a financial institution,
whose alarm system transmits an automatic alarm notification directly
to the communications center of the Police or Fire Department shall:
[Amended 6-26-2012 by G.O. No. 14-2012; 10-28-2014 by G.O. No. 12-2014]
A.
An alarm system permit holder or, if none exists, the property owner
or resident of an alarm site shall be subject to warnings, charges,
suspension or revocation of the permit, depending on the number of
false alarm notifications emitted from an alarm system within a calendar
year, as follows:
(1)
The first two false alarm notifications in a calendar year shall
result in a written warning with no charge.
(2)
All subsequent false alarm notifications shall be enforced as described in § 78-18 of this chapter.
(3)
All false alarm notifications over four in a calendar year may result
in the suspension or revocation of the permit by the licensing authority
or may result in any other action determined by the Police or Fire
Commissioner as necessary to abate the false notifications.
B.
Any person who operates a newly installed alarm system will not be
subjected to charges, suspension or revocation for the first 30 days
of the system, provided that the person applies and is issued a permit
by the licensing authority.
A.
A suspension of a permit or license shall remain in effect until:
(1)
The permit or license holder acknowledges the suspension, in writing,
as directed by the licensing authority;
(2)
The permit or license holder has taken all the action required by
the licensing authority in the suspension notice; and
(3)
The licensing authority has issued a removal of suspension order.
B.
The licensing authority shall revoke a permit or license if it is
determined that:
C.
A person commits an offense and is subject to the penalty section
of this chapter if he operates while suspended or revoked.
D.
A permit or license which has been revoked may be reinstated and
a new permit of license shall be issued as follows:
A.
The denial of an application for a permit or license, a suspension
or a revocation of a license or permit must be made in writing by
the licensing authority by certified mail, return receipt requested,
and sent to the applicant or permit holder and the applicable alarm
company.
B.
The notified party may appeal any decision of the licensing authority
to the Alarm Review Board by filing a written request for review with
the licensing authority, setting forth the reasons for the appeal,
within 10 days after receipt of the notice from the licensing authority.
C.
A timely request for appeal shall stay any action of the licensing
authority until the Alarm Review Board has decided the appeal. If
a request for appeal is not made within the ten-day period, the action
of the licensing authority is final.
D.
The appealing party shall be entitled to a hearing by the Alarm Review
Board only if requested in the written request for review.
E.
The Alarm Review Board shall consider the evidence on any interested
party while reviewing the decision of the licensing authority. The
Board shall make its decision on the basis of the preponderance of
the evidence. The Board must render a decision within 30 days after
the request for an appeal is filed. The Board shall affirm, reverse
or modify the action of the licensing authority. The decision of the
Board is final as to administrative remedies with the City.
A.
Central alarm station systems.
(1)
The Police Commissioner and the Fire Commissioner are hereby authorized
to prescribe the location and the manner of installation of private
and regular business telephone lines into police headquarters or fire
headquarters from a central alarm station for the express purpose
of providing direct telephone communication between a central alarm
station and police headquarters or fire headquarters for use in reporting
alarms.
(2)
The Police Commissioner and the Fire Commissioner reserve the right
to cancel service of such systems and order the removal of all equipment
at no cost to the City of Yonkers.
B.
Direct alarm systems.
(1)
The Police Commissioner and the Fire Commissioner are hereby authorized
to prescribe the location and the manner of installation of all cabinets,
accessories, connections and equipment of an approved direct alarm
system with police headquarters or fire headquarters for the purpose
of providing a direct alarm system where the visible and audible signals
therefrom may be readily seen and heard by police or fire personnel.
(2)
The Police Commissioner and the Fire Commissioner reserve the right
to cancel service of such systems and order the removal of all equipment
at no cost to the City of Yonkers.
C.
Panic alarms. Upon receipt of a panic alarm notification by the Police
Department, police officers shall effectuate a response which shall
include an entry into the premises. Such entry shall be made in the
least obtrusive manner possible under the circumstances.
D.
Disrupted service. When the service of reporting emergencies to the
Police Department or Fire Department from a central station protective
system, a modified central station or a licensed answering service
is disrupted by fire, storm or other cause, the person in charge of
such authorized intermediary shall notify its customers as quickly
as possible by telephone that protection is no longer being provided.
Such notice shall be promptly confirmed by letter, a copy of which
shall be sent to the Department concerned.
E.
No liability of City of Yonkers. The City of Yonkers shall not be
liable for any defects in operation of automatic protection devices
and signal line systems, for any failure or neglect to respond appropriately
upon receipt of an alarm from such a source nor for the failure or
neglect of any person with a license issued pursuant to this chapter
in connection with the installation and operation of equipment, the
transmission of alarm signals and prerecorded alarm messages or the
relating of such signals and messages. In the event that the City
of Yonkers finds it necessary to disconnect a defective automatic
protection device or signaling device, the City of Yonkers shall incur
no liability by such action.
F.
Confidentiality. Information obtained by the licensing authority,
the Police Commissioner or the Fire Commissioner under this chapter
will be considered confidential and shall not be divulged, except
as necessary or appropriate for the enforcement or administration
of this chapter or to assist in the City's response to alarm
notifications.
G.
Municipal property. None of the fees or charges of this chapter shall
apply to City of Yonkers property, Yonkers Board of Education property
or county, state or federally owned property. Each governmental entity
is required to complete a license application pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter.
H.
Records. Every person conducting the business of owning, operating,
maintaining, installing, leasing or selling police or fire alarm devices
or providing answering service within the City of Yonkers shall maintain
complete and accurate records of all installations of alarm systems
and services in the City of Yonkers and shall produce such records
for inspection by the licensing authority, the Police Department or
the Fire Department upon reasonable demand.
A.
A financial institution required to have an alarm system pursuant
to the provisions of the Bank Protection Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. § 1882)
may install, with the permission of the Police Commissioner, a signal
line directly to the Police Department for the purpose of reporting
burglaries and robberies. If such an arrangement is made, all other
requirements of this chapter must be met, including but not limited
to the application for an alarm system permit. The financial institution
shall execute a letter of agreement with the City permitting the installation
of all necessary equipment on an indicator panel monitored in the
communications divisions of the Police Department. The installation
must be accomplished at the institution's expense.
B.
The financial institution shall pay an annual fee of $200 for each
indicator. The Police Commissioner shall have the right, at reasonable
times and upon oral notice, to inspect the alarm system at the alarm
site and require necessary repairs or improvements. If the Police
Commissioner finds that the alarm system continually fails to operate
properly or be operated properly, he may terminate the privilege to
have equipment and indicators in the communications center of the
Police Department and require prompt removal of the equipment at the
expense of the financial institution.
C.
The financial institution, at its expense, shall make arrangements
to provide service of the alarm system at the request of the financial
institution or the Police Commissioner on a twenty-four-hour basis,
seven days a week. In no event shall the City become liable for charges
for repairs and maintenance.
D.
The financial institution may cancel its agreement with the City
at any time by giving the City written notice through the Police Commissioner
and, at its own expense, remove its equipment and indicators from
the monitor panel in the communications center.
E.
The Police Commissioner may require any change, modernization or
consolidation of alarm signaling equipment that he deems advisable.
In no event shall the City become liable for charges for these changes.
F.
Instead of a direct signal line, a financial institution may report
burglaries and robberies by transmission through an alarm monitoring
company using a special trunkline designated by the Police Commissioner.
