It shall be unlawful for the owner, operator, manager or any
employee of any theater in the unincorporated areas of the Town of
Hempstead, to admit any child under the age of 16 years unaccompanied
by a parent, guardian or other adult person, unless such theater is
licensed pursuant to and complies with the provisions of this chapter.
The Town Clerk may issue a license to any theater within the
unincorporated area of the Town of Hempstead where motion pictures
are shown, for the admission of unaccompanied children between the
ages of eight and 16, as hereinafter provided.
Application for theater licenses to admit unaccompanied children
shall be made by the owner, operator or manager of such theater to
the Town Clerk on forms to be furnished by the Town Clerk. The annual
fee for such theater license shall be $5, assessed on a calendar year
basis, and all licenses issued therefor shall expire on the 31st day
of December immediately following the date of issuance. There shall
be no reduction in fee for fractional parts of the year.
The owner, operator or manager of a theater licensed under this
chapter shall provide a section of seats on the main or orchestra
floor of such theater for the exclusive use of unaccompanied children
under the age of 16 years, and no such child shall be permitted to
sit in any other part of such theater. Such section shall be plainly
marked or designated as "Children's Section." A seat in such
section shall be provided for each unaccompanied child admitted to
such theater, and such children admitted shall not be permitted to
stand. The size of such section may be varied from time to time as
the need shall appear. Every such section shall be immediately accessible
to exits. Adults shall not be admitted to such section while it is
reserved for such unaccompanied children.
It shall be unlawful to admit unaccompanied children to any
theater during the time that their school classes are in session in
any unincorporated area of the Town of Hempstead, or after the hours
of 6:00 p.m.
Any parent, guardian or other adult person accompanying a child
into any theater shall thereby assume full responsibility for such
child's behavior and safety.