[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Peekskill 9-26-1995 (Ch. 203 of the 1984 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
The Common Council of the City of Peekskill finds and declares that:
(1) 
The uncontrolled placement and maintenance of newsracks in public rights-of-way presents an inconvenience and a danger to the safety and welfare of persons using such rights-of-way, including pedestrians, persons entering and leaving vehicles and buildings and persons performing essential utility, traffic control and emergency services.
(2) 
Newsracks so located as to cause an inconvenience or danger to persons using public rights-of-way, and unsightly newsracks, create a visual blight that curtails efforts to maintain an aesthetically pleasing urban environment and constitute a public nuisance.
B. 
The Common Council recognizes, however, that the use of such rights-of-way is historically associated with the sale and distribution of newspapers and publications and that access to those areas for such purposes should not be absolutely denied. The Common Council further finds that these strong and competing interests require a reasonable accommodation which can only be satisfactorily achieved by means of this chapter which is designed to balance such interests by regulating the time, place and manner of using such newsracks.
C. 
The provisions herein contained and enacted are in pursuance of and for the purpose of securing and promoting the public health, safety and general welfare of persons in the City of Peekskill in their use of public rights-of-way through the regulation of placement, appearance, number, size and servicing of newsracks on the public rights-of-way so as to:
(1) 
Provide for pedestrian and driving safety and convenience;
(2) 
Ensure no unreasonable interference with the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including ingress to, or egress from, any place of business or from the street to the sidewalks;
(3) 
Provide reasonable access for the use and maintenance of sidewalks, poles, posts, traffic signs and signals, hydrants, mailboxes and similar appurtenances, and access to locations used for public transportation purposes;
(4) 
Reduce visual blight on the public rights-of-way, protect the aesthetics and value of surrounding properties, and protect the quiet of residential areas;
(5) 
Reduce exposure of the City to personal injury or property damage claims and litigation; and
(6) 
Protect the right to distribute information protected by the United States and New York State Constitutions through the use of newsracks.
D. 
It is not the intent of this chapter to in any way discriminate against, regulate or interfere with the publication, circulation, distribution or dissemination of any printed material that is constitutionally protected.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
DISTRIBUTOR
The person responsible for placing and maintaining a newsrack in a public right-of-way.
NEWSRACK
Any self-service or coin-operated box, container, storage unit or other dispenser installed, used or maintained for the display, sale, offer for sale or free distribution of newspapers or other written materials.
PARKWAY
The area between the sidewalk and the curb of any street, and where there is no sidewalk, the area between the edge of the roadway and the property line adjacent thereto. "Parkway" shall also include any area within a roadway that is not open to vehicular travel.
PUBLIC HIGHWAY
Any highway, road, street, avenue, alley, public place, public driveway or any other public way.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
The area between property lines which may be unimproved or surfaced and which may include streets, parkways, roadways and sidewalks.
ROADWAY
The area between curbs, or the edges of pavement, improved, designed, marked or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic.
SIDEWALK
Any surface provided for the exclusive use of pedestrians.
STREET
All that area dedicated to public use for public street purposes including, but not limited to, roadways, highways, parkways, sidewalks and unimproved areas.
A. 
No person shall install, use or maintain any newsrack which projects onto, into, or which rests, wholly or in part, upon the roadway of any public street.
B. 
No person shall install, use or maintain any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any public sidewalk or parkway:
(1) 
When such installation, use or maintenance endangers the safety of persons or property;
(2) 
When such site or location is used for public utility purposes, public transportation purposes or other governmental use;
(3) 
When such newsrack unreasonably interferes with or impedes the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including parked or stopped vehicles; the ingress in or egress from any residence or place of business; the use of poles, posts, traffic signs or signals, hydrants, mailboxes or other objects permitted at or near said location;
(4) 
When such newsrack interferes with the cleaning of any sidewalk by the use of mechanical sidewalk cleaning equipment; or
(5) 
In any other manner inconsistent with or in violation with the provisions of this chapter.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to install, place, maintain or operate any newsrack on any public street or sidewalk or in any other public right-of-way or place, in the City of Peekskill, without first having obtained a permit from the Director of Public Works specifying the exact location(s) of such newsrack(s). One permit may be issued to include any number of newsracks and shall be signed by the applicant.
[Amended 6-24-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019]
B. 
Application for such permit shall be made, in writing, to the Director of Public Works upon such form as shall be provided by said Director, and shall contain the name and address of the applicant, the proposed specific location(s) of the newsrack(s) and shall be signed by the applicant.
[Amended 6-24-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019]
C. 
From the above application information the Director of Public Works shall approve or disapprove the location(s). He shall be guided therein solely by the standards and criteria set forth in this chapter.
[Amended 6-24-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019]
D. 
Permits may be issued for the installation of a newsrack without prior inspection of the location by the Director or his duly authorized representative, but such newsrack and the installation, use or maintenance thereof shall be conditioned upon observance of the provisions of this chapter. Permit decisions shall be made within 72 hours (excluding Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays) after the application has been filed. A permit fee is required as set forth in the Consolidated Fee Schedule maintained in the office of the City Clerk. Denial by the Director of a particular location for a newsrack shall be in writing and state the reason(s) therefor. Such denial shall be without prejudice to the applicant designating a different location.
[Amended 5-14-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007; 9-25-2017 by L.L. No. 2-2017]
E. 
Such permits shall be valid for two years and shall be renewable pursuant to the procedure for original applications set forth in § 385-3B above and upon payment of the fifty-dollar permit fee. Newsrack permits shall not be assignable.
[Amended 5-14-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
[Amended 6-24-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019]
A. 
As an express condition of the approval of any newsrack permit, the distributor shall file with the Director of Public Works of the City of Peekskill an agreement, in a form satisfactory to the Corporation Counsel, to indemnify and hold harmless the City of Peekskill, its officers and employees, against any loss, liability or damage, including expenses and costs, for bodily or personal injury and for property damage sustained by any person as a result of the installation, use or maintenance of a newsrack within the City of Peekskill.
B. 
The distributor shall also file with the Director of Public Works a certificate of insurance, demonstrating that the distributor has public liability and property damage insurance in an amount not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence, and naming the City of Peekskill as co-insured for the newsracks placed in the City of Peekskill. Said insurance shall be maintained during the permit period of any newsrack.
A. 
The distributor of any newsrack existing as of the effective date of this chapter shall file an application for a newsrack permit with the Director of Public Works. Such application shall comply with § 385-4 of this chapter and shall be filed within 30 days of the effective date of this chapter. Upon issuance of a permit for any existing newsrack, such permittee shall have five business days to remove all of its nonauthorized newsracks from the streets of the City of Peekskill.
[Amended 6-24-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019]
B. 
All newsracks, except for those approved by the City as to type and location, shall be removed from the streets of the City of Peekskill within 35 days of the effective date of this chapter.
C. 
No newsrack shall exceed 60 inches in height, 30 inches in width, or 24 inches in depth.
D. 
No newsrack shall be used for advertising signs or publicity purposes other than those solely dealing with the display, sale or purchase of the publication distributed therein.
E. 
Each newsrack shall be equipped with a coin-return mechanism to permit a person using the machine to secure an immediate refund in the event such person is unable to receive the publication for which he or she has paid. The coin-return mechanism shall be maintained in good working order.
F. 
Each newsrack shall have affixed to it, in a readily visible place so as to be seen by anyone using the newsrack, the permit number together with a notice setting forth the name and address of the distributor and a telephone number of a working telephone service to call to report a malfunction, or to secure a refund in the event of a malfunction of the coin-return mechanism or to give any notice provided for in this chapter.
G. 
Each newsrack resting in whole or in part upon, in or over any public sidewalk or property shall be maintained in a neat and clean condition and in good repair at all times. Specifically, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each newsrack shall be serviced and maintained so that:
(1) 
It is reasonably free of dirt and grease.
(2) 
It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling and cracked paint in the visible painted areas thereof.
(3) 
It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion in the visible unpainted metal areas thereof.
(4) 
The clear plastic or glass parts thereof, if any, through which the publications therein are viewed are unbroken and reasonably free of cracks, dents, blemishes and discoloration.
(5) 
The paper or cardboard parts or inserts thereof are reasonably free of tears, peeling or fading.
(6) 
The structural parts thereof are not broken or unduly misshapen.
Any newsrack which rests in whole or in part upon any portion of a public right-of-way, or which projects onto, into or over any part of a public right-of-way shall be located in accordance with the provisions of this section.
A. 
No newsrack shall be used or maintained which projects onto, into or over any public street, or which rests wholly or in part upon, along or over any portion of the roadway of any public street or of any public parking area.
B. 
No newsrack shall be chained, cabled, bolted or otherwise attached to any fixture located in the public right-of-way.
C. 
Two or more newsracks may be placed next to each other, provided that no group of newsracks shall extend for a distance of more than five feet along a curb or wall, and a space of not less than 10 feet shall separate each group of newsracks.
D. 
No newsrack shall be placed, installed, used or maintained:
(1) 
Within five feet of any marked crosswalk area.
(2) 
Within 15 feet of the curb return of any unmarked crosswalk.
(3) 
Within 15 feet of any fire hydrant.
(4) 
Within five feet of any fire or police call box, fire alarm or other similar emergency facility.
(5) 
Within five feet of the ingress or egress of any residence or place of business.
(6) 
Within 10 feet of any public or private driveway.
(7) 
Within 25 feet of any fire station, police station, ambulance station, entrance to hospital emergency room or other similar emergency facility.
(8) 
Within three feet ahead or 25 feet to the rear of any designated bus stop, taxi stand or place marked for handicapped parking.
(9) 
At any location whereby the clearance space for the passage of pedestrians would be reduced to less than five feet by the placing of the newsrack.
(10) 
Adjacent to any portion of a roadway designated as a fire lane.
(11) 
Parallel to the curb return at a distance less than 18 inches or more than 24 inches from the curb or, if adjacent to the wall of a building, not more than six inches from the wall.
(12) 
Within three feet of any public area improved with lawn, flowers, shrubs, trees or other landscaping.
(13) 
On any handicap access ramp.
(14) 
Within 125 feet of another newsrack distributing the same publication on the same side of the street.
(15) 
Within three feet of any traffic pole, post, sign or signal, water valve, manhole or meter pole.
E. 
No newsrack shall be placed or allowed to remain in any location where it unreasonably interferes with the removal of snow or ice or the removal of leaves or debris, whether the removal is a public or private duty.
[Amended 5-14-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007; 6-24-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019]
Upon determination by the Director of Public Works that a newsrack has been installed, used or maintained in violation of the provisions of this chapter, an order to correct the offending condition shall be issued to the distributor of the newsrack. Such order shall be telephoned to the distributor and confirmed by mailing a copy of the order by certified mail return receipt requested. The order shall specifically describe the offending condition, suggest actions necessary to correct the condition, and inform the newsrack distributor of the right to appeal. Failure to properly correct the offending condition within five days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays) after the mailing date of the order or to appeal the order within three days after its receipt shall result in the offending newsrack being summarily removed, treated as lost property, and disposed of as provided in Article 7-B of the Personal Property Law. If the offending newsrack is not properly identified as to owner under the provisions of § 385-6F hereof, it shall be removed immediately, treated as lost property, and disposed of as provided in Article 7-B of the Personal Property Law. An impound fee, which shall be measured by the City's cost and expense of impounding, shall be assessed against each newsrack summarily removed. The Director of Public Works shall cause inspection to be made of the corrected condition or of a newsrack reinstalled after removal under this section. The distributor of said newsrack shall be charged an inspection fee of $50 for each newsrack so inspected. This charge shall be in addition to all other fees and charges required under this chapter.
[Amended 6-24-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019]
Any person or entity aggrieved by a finding, determination, notice, order or action taken under provisions of this chapter may appeal and shall be appraised of his right to appeal to the City Manager. An appeal must be perfected within three days after receipt of notice of any protested decision or action by filing with the office of the City Manager a letter of appeal briefly stating therein the basis for such appeal. A hearing shall be held on a date not more than 10 days after receipt of the letter of appeal. The appellant shall be given at least five days notice of the time and place of the hearing. The City Manager shall give the appellant, and any other interested party, a reasonable opportunity to be heard, in order to show cause why the determination of the Director of Public Works should not be upheld. At the conclusion of the hearing, the City Manager shall make a final and conclusive decision. The decision shall be immediately appealable to a court of competent jurisdiction.
In the event a newsrack remains empty for a period of 30 continuous days, the same shall be deemed abandoned, and may be treated in the same manner as provided in § 385-8 for newsracks in violation of the provisions of this chapter.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be interpreted to limit or impair the exercise by the City of its police power, in the event of an emergency, as determined by the City Manager or his designee, to remove any newsrack which presents a danger of imminent personal injury or property damage to users of the public streets of the City, or would otherwise hamper or impair the fulfillment by the City of its governmental obligations including, but not limited to, snow removal and street cleaning.
If any section, paragraph, subdivision, clause, phrase, word or provision of this chapter shall be adjudged invalid or held unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, the same shall not affect the validity of this chapter as a whole or any part or provision thereof other than the part so decided to be invalid or unconstitutional.