[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City of Mount Vernon 7-9-1958, approved 7-10-1958. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise,
the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Includes only bona fide religious, charitable and nonprofit
organizations of veterans, volunteer firemen and similar nonprofit
organizations.
A specific game of chance, commonly known as "bingo" or "lotto,"
in which prizes are awarded on the basis of designated numbers or
symbols on a card conforming to numbers or symbols selected at random.
The State Lottery Control Commission.
A license issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 4-24-1963, approved 4-25-1963]
It shall be lawful for any authorized organization, upon obtaining
a license therefor, as hereinafter provided, to conduct the game of
bingo within the territorial limits of the City of Mount Vernon, New
York, subject to the provisions of this chapter, the provisions of
Article 14-H (§§ 475-499) of the General Municipal
Law and the provisions of the State Lottery Control Law.
[Amended 4-24-1963, approved 4-25-1963]
Any game or games licensed hereunder shall be subject to the
following restrictions in addition to such other restrictions as may
be provided herein or contained in the rules and regulations of the
Control Commission:
A.Â
No
person, firm, association, corporation or organization other than
a licensee under the provisions of Article 14-H of the General Municipal
Law shall conduct such game or shall lease or otherwise make available
for conducting bingo a hall or other premises for any consideration
whatsoever, direct or indirect.
B.Â
No
bingo games shall be held, operated or conducted on or within any
leased premises if rental under the lease is to be paid, wholly or
partly, on the basis of a percentage of the receipts or net profits
derived from the operation of such game.
C.Â
No
authorized organization licensed under the provisions of Article 14-H
of the General Municipal Law shall purchase or receive any supplies
or equipment specifically designed or adapted for use in the conduct
of bingo games from other than a supplier licensed under the Bingo
Control Law or from another authorized organization.
D.Â
The
entire net proceeds of any game of bingo and of any rental shall be
exclusively devoted to the lawful purposes of the organization permitted
to conduct the same.
E.Â
No
prize shall exceed the sum or value of $250 in any single game of
bingo.
F.Â
No
series of prizes on any one bingo occasion shall aggregate more than
$1,000.
G.Â
No
person except a bona fide member of any such organization shall participate
in the management or operation of such game.
H.Â
No
person shall receive any remuneration for participating in the management
or operation of any game of bingo.
I.Â
The
unauthorized conduct of a bingo game and any willful violation of
any provision of this chapter shall constitute and be punishable as
a misdemeanor.
A.Â
Each
applicant for a license shall file with the Commissioner of Licenses
of the City of Mount Vernon a written application in the form prescribed
in the rules and regulations of the Control Commission, duly executed
and verified.
B.Â
Each
application shall include the following:
(1)Â
The name and address of the applicant, together with sufficient facts
relating to its incorporation and organization to enable the governing
body of the municipality to determine whether or not it is a bona
fide authorized organization.
(2)Â
The names and addresses of its officers.
(3)Â
The specific kinds of games of chance intended to be held, operated
or conducted by the applicant and the place or places where, the date
or dates and the time or times when such games of chance are intended
to be held, operated and conducted by the applicant under the license
applied for.
(4)Â
The items of expense intended to be incurred or paid in connection
with the holding, operating and conducting of such games of chance,
and the names and addresses of the persons to whom and the purposes
for which they are to be paid.
(5)Â
The specific purposes to which the entire net proceeds of such games
of chance are to be devoted and in what manner.
(6)Â
That no commission, salary, compensation, reward or recompense will
be paid to any person for holding, operating or conducting such game
or games of chance or for assisting therein except as in this chapter
otherwise provided.
(7)Â
That no prize or aggregate of prizes will be offered or given under
such license of a value in excess of the sum or value authorized to
be offered or given by this chapter, and a description of all prizes
to be offered and given in all such games of chance to be held, operated
and conducted under such license.
(8)Â
Such other information as shall be prescribed by the rules and regulations
of the Control Commission.
C.Â
In
each application there shall be designated an active member or members
of the applicant organization under whom the game or games of chance
described in the application are to be held, operated and conducted,
and there shall be appended to the application a statement executed
and verified by the applicant and by the member or members so designated
that he, she or they will be responsible for the holding, operation
and conduct of such games of chance in accordance with the terms of
the license and the provisions of this chapter, Chapter 854 of the
Laws of 1957, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Control
Commission, if such license is granted.
D.Â
In
the event that any premises upon which any such game of chance is
to be held, operated or conducted or which is to be used for any other
purpose in connection with the holding, operation or conduct thereof
is to be leased or rented from any person, persons or corporations,
the application shall be accompanied by a written statement signed
and verified under oath by such person or persons or on behalf of
such corporation, stating his or its address and the amount of rent
to be paid for such premises, and stating that such lessor, lessors
or, if a corporation, all of its officers and each of its stockholders
who hold 10% or more of its stock issued and outstanding are of good
moral character and have not been convicted of a crime.
A.Â
The
Commissioner of Licenses of the City of Mount Vernon shall cause to
be investigated the qualifications of each applicant and the merits
of each application with due expedition after the filing of the application.
The Commissioner of Licenses shall deliver to the Chief Inspector
of Police the application, together with the supporting documents
therefor and a detailed report of the results of his investigation,
including the due qualifications of the applicant to be licensed,
the relationship of the members under whom such games are to be conducted
to the applicant, whether such persons are of good moral character
or have ever been convicted of a crime, whether the conduct of such
games will comply with all the provisions of law and rules and regulations
applicable thereto, whether a commission, salary, compensation, reward
or recompense of any nature will be paid to any person conducting
or assisting in conducting such games of chance, whether a prize will
be offered or given in excess of the sum or value of $250 in any single
game or an aggregate of all prizes given in a series of games on a
given occasion will exceed the sum or value of $1,000 and such other
questions or inquiries as the Chief Inspector of Police may direct.
B.Â
If
the Chief Inspector of Police shall determine that the requisite conditions
have been met by the applicant, he shall so inform the Commissioner
of Licenses, who shall issue a license to the applicant for the holding,
operation and conduct of the specific kinds of games of chance applied
for upon payment of a license fee or fees of $10 for each occasion
upon which any games of chance are to be conducted under such license,
which fees are to be paid to the Comptroller of the City of Mount
Vernon. Said license shall be countersigned by the Chief Inspector
of Police.
C.Â
On
or before the 30th day of each month, the Comptroller of the City
of Mount Vernon shall transmit to the State Comptroller a sum equal
to 50% of all license fees collected by the City of Mount Vernon pursuant
to this chapter during the preceding calendar month.
D.Â
No
license for the holding, operation or conduct of any game or games
of chance shall be issued under this chapter which shall be effective
for a period of more than one year.
E.Â
Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary herein contained, the Commissioner of Licenses
shall not issue a license to any applicant where there is found to
be a violation of any state law or City ordinance respecting premises
where it is intended that such games of chance are to be held, operated
or conducted by said applicant.
[Added 12-10-1958, approved 12-11-1958]
A.Â
No
application for the issuance of a license shall be denied by the Commissioner
of Licenses until after a hearing, held on due notice to the applicant,
at which the applicant shall be entitled to be heard, upon the qualifications
of the applicant and the merits of the application.
B.Â
Any
license issued under this chapter may be amended upon application
made to the Commissioner of Licenses where the subject matter of the
proposed amendment could lawfully and properly have been included
in the original license and upon payment of such additional license
fee, if any, as would have been payable if it had been so included.
The Commissioner of Licenses of the City of Mount Vernon issuing
any license under this chapter shall have and exercise control and
supervision over all games of chance held, operated or conducted under
such license, to the end that the same are fairly held, operated and
conducted in accordance with the provisions of such license, the rules
and regulations promulgated by the Control Commission and the provisions
of this chapter governing the holding, operation and conduct of the
same, and the said Commissioner of Licenses and the Control Commission
shall have the power and the authority to suspend any license and
to revoke the same, after notice and hearing, for violation of any
provision of such license, this chapter, §§ 475 to
499 of the General Municipal Law, as amended, or the rules and regulations
of the Control Commission, and shall have the right of entry by their
respective officers and agents, at all times, into any premises where
any such game of chance is being held, operated and conducted or where
it is intended that any such game of chance shall be held, operated
and conducted or where any equipment being used or intended to be
used in the conduct thereof is found, for the purpose of inspecting
the same.
[Amended 2-9-1972, approved 2-10-1972]
Such games may be held on any day provided for in such license,
to include the first day of the week, commonly known and designated
as "Sunday," after 1:05 p.m.
No persons under the age of 18 years shall be permitted to participate
in any game or games of chance held, operated or conducted pursuant
to any license issued under this chapter unless accompanied by an
adult.
No game or games of chance shall be held, operated or conducted
under any license issued under this chapter oftener than on six days
in any one calendar month or in any room or outdoor area where alcoholic
beverages are sold or served during the progress of the game or games.
No person shall hold, operate or conduct any game or games of chance under any license issued under this chapter except an active member of the authorized organization to which the license is issued, and no person shall assist in the holding, operating or conducting of any game or games of chance under such license except an active member or a member of an organization or association which is an auxiliary to the licensee or a member of an organization or association of which such licensee is an auxiliary or a member of an organization or association which is affiliated with the licensee by being, with it, auxiliary to another organization or association and except bookkeepers or accountants as hereinafter provided. No such game of chance shall be conducted with any equipment except such as shall be owned absolutely or used without payment of any compensation therefor by the licensee, and no item of expense shall be incurred or paid in connection with the holding, operating or conducting of any game of chance held, operated or conducted pursuant to any license issued under this chapter except such as are bona fide items of reasonable amount for goods, wares and merchandise furnished or services rendered which are reasonably necessary to be purchased or furnished for the holding, operating or conducting thereof under any circumstances whatever. No rental shall be paid for the use of any premises for holding, operating or conducting any such game of chance thereon or for any other purpose in connection with the holding, operating or conducting thereof unless the amount of such rental is stated in a statement annexed to the application for the license as provided in § 95-4 of this chapter or which is in excess of the sum stated as the rental to be charged therefor in such statement; and no commission, salary, compensation, reward or recompense whatever shall be paid or given, directly or indirectly, to any person holding, operating or conducting, or assisting in the holding, operation or conduct of, any game of chance so held, operated or conducted, except that reasonable compensation may be paid to bookkeepers or accountants for bookkeeping or accounting services rendered according to a schedule of compensation prescribed by the rules of the Control Commission.
Not more than $1 shall be charged by any licensee for admission
to any room or place in which any game or games of chance are to be
held, operated and conducted under any license issued under this chapter,
which admission fee, upon payment thereof, shall entitle the person
paying the same to a card entitling him to participate without additional
charge in all regular games of chance to be played under such license
on such occasion, and no charge in excess of $1 shall be made for
a single opportunity to participate in all special games to be played
under such license on such occasion. No prize greater in amount or
value than $250 shall be offered or given in any single game conducted
under any such license, and the aggregate amount or value of all prizes
offered or given in all games played on a single occasion shall not
exceed $1,000. All winners shall be determined and all prizes shall
be awarded in any game played on any occasion within the same calendar
day as that upon which the game was played. No alcoholic beverages
shall be offered or given as a prize in any such game.
No game of chance to be conducted under any license issued under
this chapter shall be advertised as to its location, the time when
it is to be or has been played or the prizes awarded or to be awarded,
by means of newspapers, radio, television or sound trucks or by means
of billboards, posters or handbills or any other means addressed to
the general public, except that one sign not exceeding 60 square feet
in area may be displayed on or adjacent to the premises where the
game will be played, and an additional sign may be displayed on or
adjacent to the premises where the prize or prizes are displayed;
provided, however, that said signs shall fully comply with the Building
Code and Zoning Ordinances of the City of Mount Vernon, New York.[1]
Within 15 days after the conclusion of the holding, operating
and conducting of any such game of chance, the authorized organization
which held, operated or conducted the same and its members who were
in charge thereof shall furnish to the Commissioner of Licenses of
the City of Mount Vernon a duly verified statement showing the amount
of the gross receipts derived from each game of chance, which shall
include receipts from the sale of shares, tickets or rights in any
manner connected with participation in said game or the right to participate
therein, each item of expense incurred or paid and each item of expenditure
made or to be made, the name and address of each person to whom each
such item has been paid or is to be paid, with a detailed description
of the merchandise purchased or the services rendered therefor, the
net profit derived from each such game of chance, the use to which
such net profit has been or is to be applied and a list of prizes
offered and given, with the respective values thereof, and it shall
be the duty of such licensee to maintain and keep such books and records
as may be necessary to substantiate the particulars of each such report.
The Commissioner of Licenses and the Control Commission shall
have the power to examine or cause to be examined the books and records
of any authorized organization to which any such license is issued
so far as they may relate to any transactions connected with the holding,
operating and conducting of any game of chance thereunder, and to
examine any manager, officer, director, agent, member or employee
thereof under oath in relation to the conduct of any such game of
chance under any such license, but any information so received shall
not be disclosed except so far as may be necessary for the purpose
of carrying out the provisions of this chapter.
Any applicant for or holder of any license issued or to be issued
by the Commissioner of Licenses, aggrieved by any action of the Commissioner
of Licenses to which such application has been made or by which such
license has been issued, may appeal to the Control Commission from
the determination of said Commissioner of Licenses by filing with
the Commissioner of Licenses a written notice of appeal within 30
days after the determination or action appealed from, and upon the
hearing of such appeal, the evidence, if any, taken before the Commissioner
of Licenses and any additional evidence may be produced and shall
be considered in arriving at a determination of the matters in issue,
and the action of the Control Commission upon said appeal shall be
binding upon said Commissioner of Licenses and all parties to said
appeal.
No person or corporation lawfully conducting or participating
in the conduct of, or possessing, selling or in any manner disposing
of any shares, tickets or rights to participate in, or permitting
the conduct upon any premises owned by him or it, of any game of chance
conducted or to be conducted under any license lawfully issued pursuant
to this chapter, shall be liable to prosecution or conviction for
violation of any provision of Article 130 of the Penal Law[1] or any other law or ordinance to the extent that such
conduct is specifically authorized by this City Council, but this
immunity shall not extend to any person or corporation knowingly conducting
or participating in the conduct of any game of chance under any license
obtained by any false pretense or statement made in any application
for such license or otherwise, or possessing, selling or disposing
of shares, tickets or rights to participate in, or permitting the
conduct upon any premises owned by him or it, of any game of chance
conducted under any license known to him or it to have been obtained
by any such false pretense or statement.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now Article 225 of the Penal Law and
§§ 5-415, 5-417 and 5-423 of the General Obligations
Law.
Any person, association or corporation who or which shall make any false statement in any application for any such license or in any statement annexed thereto, or shall pay any rental for the use of any premises for holding, operating or conducting any game of chance under this chapter or for any other purpose in connection with the holding, operating or conducting thereof unless the amount of such rental is stated in a statement annexed to the application for the license as provided in § 95-4 of this chapter, or shall pay or receive any sum for such rental in excess of the sum stated as the rental to be charged therefor in such statement executed by him or on its behalf, or shall fail to keep such books and records as shall fully and truly record all transactions connected with the holding, operating and conducting of games of chance under any such license, or shall falsify or make any false entry in any book or record so far as it relates to any transaction connected with the holding, operating or conducting of any game of chance under any such license, or shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter or of any term of such license, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall forfeit any license issued to it under this chapter for one year thereafter.
This chapter may be amended from time to time or repealed by
the City Council of the City of Mount Vernon and such amendment or
repeal, as the case may be, made effective and operative not later
than 30 days following the date of the ordinance effecting such amendment
or repeal, as the case may be; and the approval of a majority of the
electors shall not be a condition prerequisite to the taking effect
of such chapter.
If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof
to any municipality, person or circumstances shall be adjudged unconstitutional
by any court of competent jurisdiction thereunder, the remainder of
this chapter or the application thereof to such municipality, person
or circumstances shall not be affected thereby, and the City Council
hereby declares that it would have enacted this chapter without the
invalid provision or application, as the case may be, had such invalidity
been apparent.
The proposition that this chapter be adopted shall be submitted
to the electors of the City of Mount Vernon at the general election
to be held on the fourth day of November 1958. If the proposition
shall be approved by a vote of the majority of the qualified electors
voting thereon, this chapter shall be deemed adopted and shall become
effective January 1, 1959, but if the proposition shall not be approved
by a vote of the majority of the qualified electors voting thereon,
no provision of this chapter shall become effective.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The proposition was approved by a majority
of the qualified electors at the general election of 1958.
This chapter, including the following notice, shall be published
by the City Clerk of the City of Mount Vernon, New York, in the Daily
Argus, the official newspaper of the City of Mount Vernon, twice a
week in each of three calendar weeks prior to November 4, 1958, the
date of such general election:
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OFFICIAL NOTICE
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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of
Mount Vernon, New York, DID on the 9th day of July 1958, adopt an
ordinance which was thereafter approved by the Mayor of the City of
Mount Vernon, New York, described in the following proposition and
directed that, at the general election of the qualified voters of
the City of Mount Vernon, to be held at the regular designated polling
places of the City of Mount Vernon, New York, on the 4th day of November
1958, between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard
Time), the following proposition shall be voted upon:
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"Shall the ordinance adopted by the City Council of the City
of Mount Vernon, New York, on the 9th day of July 1958, and thereafter
approved by the Mayor of the City of Mount Vernon, New York, entitled:
AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CONDUCT OF BINGO GAMES IN THE CITY OF
MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK, PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 1, SECTION
9, OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, AND CHAPTER 854 OF
THE LAWS OF 1957, AS AMENDED, be approved?"
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The following is an abstract of said ordinance:
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It shall be lawful for any authorized organization, upon obtaining
a license therefor, to conduct the game of bingo within the territorial
limits of the City of Mount Vernon, New York, subject to the provisions
of this ordinance, the provisions of Article 14-H (§§ 475-499)
of the General Municipal Law and the provisions of the State Lottery
Control Law.
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All persons having the qualifications of a voter as prescribed
by the Election Law of the State of New York shall be qualified to
vote at said election.
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DATED: Mount Vernon, N.Y.
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July 9, 1958
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Walter Meyer (Signed)
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CITY CLERK
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This chapter shall be dated July 9, 1958, and shall take effect
upon its approval by the Mayor of the City of Mount Vernon, New York.
