The Board of Trustees of the Village of Ossining
hereby finds and declares that graffiti creates a nuisance for the
Village's residents and merchants. The proliferation of graffiti is
a physical blight upon the landscape of the Village and costs taxpayers,
merchants and homeowners substantial monies to remove and repair.
When unchecked, graffiti only encourages more graffiti.
For purposes of this article, the following
words shall have the meaning ascribed to them herein:
Shall have the same meaning as that found in § 145.60
of the New York State Penal Law.
Any building, fence, motor vehicle, recreational vehicle,
rock, statue, monument, wall, tunnel, sign, structure, tree, utility
box, utility pole, waste receptacle and all other articles of personal
or real property upon which one can write, draw, paint, etch or otherwise
mark.
It is unlawful for any person to apply graffiti
to any property without the permission of the owner or occupant of
such property.
A.
Requirement to remove graffiti. The occupant, owner,
lessee, sublessee, agent and/or landlord of any commercial, personal
or residential property located within the Village of Ossining on
which any form of graffiti has been written, painted, drawn, etched,
or otherwise applied shall remove the graffiti from public view by
either moving the property, removing the graffiti, or repainting,
restoring, or recovering the surface on which the graffiti has been
applied using the same colors and textures as existed previously on
the surface, within seven days after written notice from the Village.
The Village may serve said written notice on the occupant, owner,
lessee, sublessee, agent and/or landlord by personal service, in which
case the seven-day curative period shall begin to run from the date
of said service, or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to
the address at which the property is located, in which case the seven-day
curative period shall run from the date that said notice is received
as set forth in that receipt or, if that receipt is not returned,
14 days from the date of mailing.
B.
Remedy of Village. If any graffiti is not removed from public view within seven days after notice from the Village as set forth in § 155-5A, then the Village may issue a criminal summons or appearance ticket returnable in the Justice Court of the Town of Ossining, and may enter the premises or hire a private contractor to enter the premises and remove the graffiti from public view as set forth in § 155-5A, at the cost and expense of the occupant, owner, lessee, sublessee, agent and/or landlord of property. The actual cost of that removal, plus the cost of the inspection of said property and other costs incidental to such removal, shall become a lien upon any real property upon which the graffiti was found and shall be added to and become a part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied on such real property, and the same shall be collected and enforced in the same manner as general Village taxes.
[Amended 12-20-2011 by L.L. No. 6-2011]
