As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ABANDONED VESSEL
Includes any vessel, float, houseboat, raft, catamaran or
buoy which remains unmoved in the same location at any public dock,
wharf, marina, bulkheading, berth or slip, when no specific permission
has been granted by the Town of Smithtown, for a period of five days.
Any person, association, partnership or corporation being the owner or custodian of an abandoned vessel as described in §
303-1 herein shall be deemed to have abandoned such vessel, unless the vessel shall have been reported as missing or stolen to the police within 48 hours after the owner or custodian knew or should have known that the vessel was missing or stolen. Such owner or custodian shall be guilty of an offense punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or both; however, for the purposes of conferring jurisdiction upon courts and judicial officers generally, such violation shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and for such purposes only all provisions of law relating to misdemeanors shall apply to such violations.
Any abandoned vessel within the unincorporated area of the Town
of Smithtown is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and shall
be taken into custody by the Town Board or any department or employee
of the Town of Smithtown designated by it, including but not limited
to the Superintendent of Highways. Said vessel shall be removed to
such public storage place as shall be designated by the Town Board
for such purpose.
The sale of any abandoned vessel shall be a public sale, upon
notice of such sale being posted conspicuously in at least three public
places within the Town of Smithtown not less than 10 days prior to
the date of sale. The Town Board may cause such additional publicity
of such sale as in its discretion the Town Board shall deem necessary.
The owner of any abandoned vessel taken into custody hereunder
may redeem the same upon the payment to the Town of Smithtown of all
reasonable and necessary expenses incident to the removal, custody
and storage of such vessel and upon presentation of proof of ownership
satisfactory to the Town Board.
The proceeds of any sale hereunder, less the reasonable and
necessary charges and expenses incident to the removal, custody and
sale of such abandoned vessel, shall be deemed abandoned property,
subject to the provisions of the Abandoned Property Law.
This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "Abandoned
Vessel Ordinance of the Town of Smithtown."