[Adopted 11-19-1980 by L.L. No. 9-1980]
The unregulated installation, use or maintenance
of newsracks in public streets will result in the obstruction of sidewalks
that will interfere with the public's right to unhampered passage
thereon, will create traffic congestion or illegal parking or stopping
by motorists in order to purchase newspapers, will damage municipal
property because of the chaining of newsracks to poles, traffic standards
or other fixtures, will interfere with the performance of required
municipal services, will create unsightly conditions and will endanger
the safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the City of Rye.
A.
When not inconsistent with the context, words used
in the present tense include the future; words in the plural include
the singular; and words in the singular include the plural.
B.
DISTRIBUTOR
NEWSRACK
ROADWAY
SIDEWALK
STREET
For the purposes of this article, the following words
and phrases shall have the meanings given herein:
Any person responsible for the installation, use or maintenance
of a newsrack in a public street.
Any self-service or coin-operated box, container, storage
unit or other dispenser installed, used or maintained for the display
and sale of newspapers, periodicals or other printed matter.
That portion of a highway improved, designed or ordinarily
used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder.
That portion of a street between the curblines or lateral
lines of a roadway and the adjacent property lines, intended for use
by pedestrians.
The entire width between the boundary lines of every way
publicly maintained when any part thereof is open to the use of the
public or purposes of vehicular travel, and it includes any alley
or public grounds in the City of Rye.
A.
No person shall install, use or maintain any newsrack
which projects onto, into or over any part of 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 sidewalk or other
public place when such installation, use or maintenance endangers
the safety of persons or property or when such site or location is
used for public utility purposes, public transportation purposes or
government use or when such newsrack unreasonably interferes with
or impedes the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, the ingress
into or egress from any residence, place of business or any legally
parked or stopped vehicle or the use of poles, posts, traffic signs
or signals, hydrants, mailboxes or other objects permitted at or near
said location.
C.
Any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon,
in or over any sidewalk or other public place shall comply with the
following standards:
(1)
No newsrack shall exceed four feet in height, 30 inches
in width or two feet in depth.
(2)
No newsrack shall be chained, bolted or otherwise
attached to any property owned or maintained by the City of Rye.
(3)
No newsrack shall be placed, installed, used or maintained:
(a)
Within three feet of any crosswalk.
(b)
Within 15 feet of any fire hydrant.
(c)
Within five feet of any fire or police call
box or other emergency facility.
(d)
Within five feet of any driveway, public or
private.
(e)
Within three feet ahead or 15 feet to the rear
of any designated bus stop, taxi stand or place marked for handicapped
parking.
(f)
Within three feet of any bus bench or shelter.
(g)
At any location whereby the clear space for
the passageway of pedestrians is reduced to less than four feet.
(h)
Within three feet of any display window of any
building abutting the sidewalk or other public place in such a manner
as to impede or interfere with the reasonable use of such window for
display purposes.
(i)
No newsrack shall be used for advertising signs
or publicity purposes other than that which is essential to identify
on no more than two sides of the newsrack, the newspaper, periodical
or other printed matter offered for sale therein. No letter thereon
shall exceed two square inches in size. Advertising signs,
promotional decorations, banners and moving signs shall not be permitted
on the newsrack, except as otherwise provided in this subsection.
(j)
Each newsrack shall be maintained in a clean and neat condition and in good repair at all times, and it shall be of one color that does not unnecessarily contrast with the immediate surroundings, except that the lettering permitted in Subsection C(3)(i) and (k) of this section may contrast with such one color. Neither such one color nor any of the permitted lettering shall employ reflectorized paint, day-glo, fluorescent or scotchlite reflective materials or materials of like nature.
(k)
Every person who places or maintains a newsrack
on the streets of the City of Rye shall have his name, address and
telephone number affixed thereto in a place where such information
may easily be seen.
The provisions of this article shall apply to
existing newsracks within the City of Rye, except that the distributors
thereof shall have 30 days within which to comply with the said provisions
or within such additional time as may be allowed in the discretion
of the City Manager.
A.
If any distributor violates any provision of this article, it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Police to determine whether or not such a violation has occurred and thereafter to notify the distributor to correct the violation within three days thereafter. Such notification and direction shall be in writing; it shall specify the nature of the violation and whether or not it warrants removal of the newsrack if not corrected within three days, and it shall direct correction; it shall be served upon the distributor in the same manner as a summons; or it shall be telephoned to the distributor at the telephone number designated by the distributor as provided in § 167-62C(3)(k) above and confirmed in a written notice, mailed by certified mail with return receipt requested to the address designated by the distributor as provided in § 167-62C(3)(k) above. During such three-day period, the distributor shall have a right to a hearing before the Commissioner of Police or his duly designated representative to determine whether or not such violation has occurred and whether or not the nature of such claimed violation warrants removal prior to final determination. At such hearing the distributor shall have the right to examine the evidence upon which the Commissioner of Police acted, to cross-examine any witnesses who may have appeared before him and to offer any evidence which may tend to show that the subject newsrack does not violate any provision of this article and that the claimed violation is not of a nature which warrants removal prior to final determination. The hearing officer shall promptly review such evidence, notify the distributor of his decision with respect thereto and, if necessary, afford the distributor a reasonable opportunity to comply with such determination.
B.
If said violation is not corrected within such three-day
period or such further reasonable period as may be contained in the
superseding notice by the Commissioner of Police, the Department of
Public Works shall be directed by the Commissioner of Police to remove
such newsrack and place it in storage in a secure place. The cost
of removal and storage shall be billed to the distributor, and, in
the event of nonpayment, a civil suit for money damages may be brought
by the Corporation Counsel.
C.
If such newsrack is not claimed as provided in the
Personal Property Law, it shall be treated as abandoned property and
disposed of as provided therein.
D.
Any distributor who, having been notified and directed as provided herein to correct a violation of the provisions of this article, fails to correct such violation as provided in such notice shall be guilty of a violation and shall be subject to punishment as provided in § 1-15 of the Code of the City of Rye.
E.
Any distributor or other person aggrieved by a finding, determination, notice or action taken under the provisions of this article may appeal to the City Manager. An appeal shall be made in writing, and it must be filed within three days after the receipt of written notice of any protested decision or action with the Office of the City Manager by a letter of appeal briefly stating therein the basis for such appeal. A hearing thereon shall be scheduled to be held on a date no more than 10 days after receipt of such letter. 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 or any other interested person a reasonable opportunity to be heard in order to show cause why the determination or action appealed from should not be upheld. The City Manager shall make a final determination at the conclusion of the hearing or as soon thereafter as is practicable. In the event that a distributor is successful in reversing a determination that the claimed violation was of a nature which warranted removal pending a final determination, no fee shall be imposed for the removal and storage of the newsrack which was the subject of the appeal, and failure to comply with such determination shall not serve as a basis for prosecution under Subsection D of this section. The distributor may bring an Article 78 proceeding to review the decision of the City Manager.
F.
Nothing contained in this article shall be interpreted
to limit or impair the exercise by the City of Rye of its police power
in the event of an emergency to remove any newsrack which presents
a clear and present danger of imminent personal injury or property
damage to users of the public streets of this City.
This article shall take effect immediately.
