[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Lackawanna 6-19-2017. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Peace and good order — See Ch. 165.
The City Council finds that legislation is necessary in order
to protect persons from threatening, intimidating or harassing behavior,
to keep public places safe and attractive for use by all members of
the community and to maintain and preserve public places where all
of the community can interact in a peaceful manner. This legislation
is also intended to provide for the free flow of pedestrian and vehicular
traffic on streets and sidewalks in the City of Lackawanna, to promote
tourism and business and preserve the quality of urban life. The City
Council finds that aggressive acts associated with solicitation tend
to interfere with the free flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic
and intimidate persons in public places, and can lead to disruption
and disorder in public places. Aggressive acts can also cause persons
to avoid public places and lead to declining patronage of commercial
establishments and tourism. The City Council further finds that solicitation
in certain public places is inconsistent with the use of those places,
is inherently intimidating, targets persons who are captive audiences
or constitutes an invasion of privacy as persons are not able to simply
move on if they do not wish to speak to the person soliciting. Solicitation
in proximity to bank entrances or check-cashing businesses or automated
teller machines is inherently intimidating and should be restricted.
This legislation is intended to promote the health, safety and welfare
of the citizens and visitors to the City of Lackawanna.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
Intentionally or recklessly making any physical contact with
or touching another person in the course of the solicitation, or approaching
within arm's length of the person, except with the person's
consent; or
Following the person being solicited, if that conduct is intended
to or is likely to cause a reasonable person to fear imminent bodily
harm or the commission of a criminal act upon property in the person's
possession, or is intended to or is reasonably likely to intimidate
the person being solicited into responding affirmatively to the solicitation;
or
Continuing to solicit within five feet of the person being solicited
after the person has made a negative response, if continuing the solicitation
is intended to or is likely to cause a reasonable person to fear imminent
bodily harm or the commission of a criminal act upon property in the
person's possession, or is intended to or is likely to intimidate
the person being solicited into responding affirmatively to the solicitation;
or
Intentionally or recklessly blocking the safe or free passage
of the person being solicited or requiring the person, or the driver
of a vehicle, to take evasive action to avoid physical contact with
the person making the solicitation; or
Intentionally or recklessly using words intended to or likely
to cause a reasonable person to fear imminent bodily harm or the commission
of a criminal act upon property in the person's possession, or
intended or likely to intimidate the person into responding affirmatively
to the solicitation; or
Approaching the person being solicited in a manner that is intended
to or is likely to cause a reasonable person to fear imminent bodily
harm or the commission of a criminal act upon property in the person's
possession or is intended to or is likely to intimidate the person
being solicited into responding affirmatively to the solicitation.
A device, linked to a financial institution's account
records, which is able to carry out transactions, including but not
limited to account transfers, deposits, cash withdrawals, balance
inquiries, and mortgage and loan payments.
The area comprised of one or more automated teller machines,
and any adjacent space which is made available to banking customers
after regular banking hours.
All banks, trust companies, private bankers, savings banks,
industrial banks, safe deposit companies, savings and loan associations,
credit unions and investment companies as defined in § 2
of the New York State Banking Law.
Any individual, partnership, unincorporated association or
corporation duly licensed by the New York State Superintendent of
Banks to engage in business pursuant to the provisions of Article
IX-A of the New York State Banking Law.
An off-street area used for the temporary storage of self-propelled
vehicles and available for public use, whether free, for compensation
or as an accommodation for clients or customers. Parking areas shall
also include parking garages, parking ramps, and municipal parking
lots.
Any area or building owned, leased, operated or controlled
by or on behalf of any government, municipality, public authority
or public corporation in the City of Lackawanna which is generally
accessible by the public, including but not limited to any street,
including the sidewalk portion thereof, skyway, bridge, tunnel, park,
playground, recreation area, cemetery, school, or school grounds,
building, facility, driveway, parking lot or parking garage, and the
doorways and entrances to buildings and dwellings.
Shall include, without limitation, the spoken, written, or
printed word or such other acts or bodily gestures as are conducted
in furtherance of the purposes of immediately obtaining money or any
other thing of value.
A.
No person shall solicit in an aggressive manner in a public place.
B.
No person shall solicit within 20 feet of an automated teller machine
or an entrance or exit of an automated teller machine facility during
the time the automated teller machine is available for customers'
use; or within 20 feet of an entrance or exit to a banking organization
or a licensed casher of checks during its business hours.
C.
No person shall solicit when either the person soliciting or the
person being solicited is in a bus shelter or at a bus stop.
D.
No person shall solicit in a parking area as defined in this chapter.
E.
No person on a sidewalk or alongside a roadway shall solicit from
any occupant of a motor vehicle that is on a street or other public
place.
A violation of this chapter shall be classified as a "violation"
as that term is defined in the Penal Law. A person convicted of violating
this chapter shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $250 and,
in addition, for a second conviction within 12 months of a preceding
conviction, may be imprisoned for a term not longer than 15 days.
In lieu of a fine, the court may impose an appropriate alternative
sentence; provided, however, that an alternative sentence shall not
be an unconditional discharge.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of this chapter
or application thereof to any person or circumstances shall be adjudged
by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment
shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof or the
application thereof to other persons and circumstances, but shall
be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph or
part thereof and the persons and circumstances directly involved in
the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
