[Amended 11-5-1996 by L.L. No. 5-1996]
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person at any time to own, harbor or possess a dog within the territorial limits of the Incorporated Village of New Hyde Park, unless such dog is licensed and identified as provided in Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York and, if such dog is a vicious dog as defined in § 80-3 of this chapter and subject to the provisions of Subsection C of this section, the owner of such dog is currently in compliance with all additional requirements as set forth and prescribed in Subsection B of this section. For the purposes of this subsection, the fact that a dog is without a tag attached to its collar, as provided in Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law, shall be presumptive evidence that such dog is unlicensed.
B.
Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of this section or this chapter, the following specific requirements shall apply with respect to every dog defined as a "vicious dog" under § 80-3 of this chapter:
(1)
The owner of a vicious dog shall obtain a policy of general liability insurance, in minimum coverage limits of at least $100,000 per person per occurrence and for a renewable coverage term of at least one year, specifically insuring such owner against all claims for personal injuries, related medical expenses and consequential damages which might be caused or inflicted by such dog. Proof of such insurance coverage, in the form of a certificate of insurance, shall be filed with the licensing agent as a condition precedent to the issuance of any license for such dog required by this section; and where the licensing agent shall be other than the Village Clerk of the Village of New Hyde Park, a duplicate original of the aforesaid certificate shall be promptly mailed to such Village Clerk. For the purposes of the foregoing, the certificate of insurance shall show the owner of the dog as the named insured, shall identify the "Village of New Hyde Park, 1420 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park, New York 11040" as the certificate holder and shall expressly provide on the face thereof that in the event that the policy described therein shall be canceled or materially changed before the expiration date of such policy, the issuing insurance company will mail 30 days' advance written notice to the said certificate holder.
(2)
The owner of a vicious dog shall continuously maintain, in full force and effect, the liability insurance policy required by this subsection until the death of such dog or until such owner either has ceased, in fact, to own such dog or has actually and permanently removed such dog from the territorial limits of the village.
(3)
No person shall be entitled to obtain or renew a license for a vicious dog unless that person is at least 21 years of age at the time of application for such license. Every applicant for such license shall present valid and acceptable proof of age to the licensing agent at the time of making such application.
C.
With respect to any dog which was otherwise validly licensed as of the effective date of this section, the provisions of this section shall apply, with full force and to immediate effect, as of the day next succeeding the expiration date of such license; whereupon such dog shall not continue to be owned, harbored or possessed within the village unless and until such license shall have been replaced, extended, renewed or reissued in strict compliance with all applicable provisions of this section.
D.
The Village Clerk is hereby designated and empowered to act as the regular licensing agent in connection with all provisional requirements of this section. However, if such function and duty has already been or shall hereafter be transferred by written agreement to the Town Clerk of the Town of North Hempstead, then in either such event, and for the purposes of this subsection, the said Town Clerk shall be deemed the regular licensing agent and shall be deemed vested hereby with full power and authority to carry out and administer and otherwise see to the enforcement of each of the provisional requirements of this section as they may now or hereafter apply in and to the Incorporated Village of New Hyde Park.
E.
The failure of an owner of a vicious dog either to obtain or to maintain the requisite insurance as provided in Subsection B of this section is hereby declared to be unlawful and a criminal offense. Each such offense is hereby designated a Class B misdemeanor as defined in Article IIA of Chapter 1 of the Village Code, and every such misdemeanor shall be punishable in accordance with the provisions of Subsections D, E and P of § 1-27 of that article.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also provided that it would take effect 12-1-1999.