This article is adopted to regulate the distribution
of certain materials, peddling, soliciting and related activities
within the Town of West New York. The registration of persons engaged
in the above-mentioned activities is required so that the identity
of persons going door to door or distributing materials within the
Town may be established and so that general regulations may be more
effectively enforced for the protection and maintenance of the health,
safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the Town and to prevent dishonest
business practices and dishonest solicitation of funds in the Town.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
DISTRIBUTOR
Any person who distributes or causes to be distributed on
any street or public place within the Town any newspaper, periodical,
book, magazine, handbill, circular, card or pamphlet or printed material
of any kind.
MERCHANDISE
All goods, wares, food, meat, fish, ice cream, fruit, vegetables,
magazines, periodicals, printed material, farm products, services
and orders or contracts for services, home improvements or alterations
and anything that may be sold or distributed by peddlers, solicitors
or distributors, as defined herein.
PEDDLER
Any person, whether a resident of the Town or not, who goes
from house to house, from place to place or from street to street,
traveling by foot, automotive vehicle or any type of conveyance, carrying
or transporting merchandise for the purpose of selling and delivering
the merchandise to customers. The word "peddler" shall also include
the words "hawker" and "huckster."
PERSON
Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, organization,
club, association, or any principal or agent thereof.
SOLICITOR
Any person, whether a resident of the Town or not, who goes
from house to house, from place to place or from street to street,
traveling by foot, automotive vehicle or any other type of conveyance,
soliciting, taking or attempting to take orders for the sale of merchandise
or services of any kind for future performance or delivery, whether
or not such individual has, carries or exposes for sale a sample of
the merchandise or services and whether or not he is collecting advance
payments on such sales or orders, or who engages in any of the foregoing
activities from a stationary location on any street or other public
place. The word "solicitor" shall also include the word "canvasser"
or any person who goes from door to door, as described above, for
the purpose of soliciting and/or who collects funds from a stationary
location on any street or other public place.
TRANSIENT MERCHANT
Any person engaging in the activities commonly referred to
as transient merchant or itinerant vendor, who merchandises or sells
with the intent to close out or discontinue such business within a
period of one year from the date of commencement and occupies a room,
building, tent, lot or other premises for the purpose of selling merchandise.
It shall be unlawful for any peddler, solicitor,
distributor or transient merchant to sell, offer for sale or distribute
merchandise, printed material or services within the Town without
first registering with, filing an application for registration with,
paying a registration fee to and obtaining a registration certificate
from the Town of West New York.
[Amended 12-15-1982 by Ord. No. 1582]
Every applicant for a certificate under this
Article shall file with the Department of Health a sworn written application
on a form to be furnished by said Clerk, which shall give or be accompanied
by the following information or documents:
A. Name and description of the applicant.
B. Permanent home address and full local address of the
applicant.
C. A brief statement of the nature of the business and
a description of the merchandise or service to be sold.
D. If employed, the name and address of the employer,
together with credentials establishing the exact relationship.
E. The length of time for which the certificate is desired.
F. If a vehicle is to be used, a description of such
vehicle and its license number.
G. The place where the merchandise or services to be
sold or offered for sale are manufactured or produced, where such
goods or property are located at the time such application is filed
and the proposed method of delivery.
H. A photograph of the applicant taken within 60 days
immediately prior to the date of the application, which photograph
shall clearly show the head and shoulders of the applicant and shall
measure two inches by two inches.
I. Two business references located in the County of Hudson,
State of New Jersey, or in lieu thereof such other available evidence
of the character and business responsibility of the applicant as will
enable an investigator to properly evaluate such character and responsibility.
J. A statement as to whether the applicant has been convicted
of any crime, misdemeanor or violation of any municipal ordinance,
the nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor.
K. The fingerprints of the applicant.
[Amended 12-15-1982 by Ord. No. 1582]
A. When the application is properly filled out and signed
by the applicant, the original and duplicate thereof shall be filed
with the Department of Health; the Department of Health shall refer
the original to the Commissioner of Public Safety, who shall make
or cause to be made within five days such investigation of the applicant's
business responsibility and character as he deems necessary for protection
of the public good.
B. If as a result of such an investigation the applicant's
character or business responsibility is found to be unsatisfactory,
the Commissioner of Public Safety shall endorse on such application
his disapproval and his reasons therefor and return the said application
to the Department of Health. Any determination by the Commissioner
of Public Safety that an application is unsatisfactory shall be based
on one or more of the following findings with respect to the applicant:
(1) Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude.
(2) Prior violation of a peddling or soliciting ordinance.
(3) Previous fraudulent acts or conduct.
(4) Record of breaches of solicited contracts.
(5) Evidence of bad character or bad faith in dealing
with the public.
C. In the absence of any such finding, the Commissioner
of Public Safety shall find the application satisfactory and shall
endorse his approval on the application and return the application
to the Department of Health.
[Amended 12-15-1982 by Ord. No. 1582]
A. If an application is found unsatisfactory by the Commissioner
of Public Safety and he has endorsed his disapproval upon the application,
the Department of Health shall notify the applicant by mail that the
application is disapproved and shall deny the applicant any registration
certificate.
B. If an application is found satisfactory by the Commissioner
of Public Safety, the Department of Health shall forward the application
to the Board of Commissioners, who shall approve or disapprove said
application by majority vote and, if approval is granted, shall issue
a registration certificate addressed to the applicant to conduct the
business applied for upon payment of the proper fee by the applicant.
Such certificate shall contain the signature of the issuing officer
and shall show the name, address and photograph of the applicant,
the type of business (peddler, solicitor, distributor, transient merchant)
the applicant has registered for, the kind of goods or services to
be sold thereunder, the date of issue, the length of time the certificate
shall be operative and the license number and other identifying description
of any vehicle used in the activity licensed.
[Amended 12-15-1982 by Ord. No. 1582]
Any person aggrieved by the action of the Board of Commissioners or of the Department of Health in the denial of a certificate, as provided in §
284-7 of this article, shall have the right of appeal to the Board of Commissioners. Such appeal shall be taken by filing with the Board of Commissioners, within 14 days after the notice of the action complained of has been mailed to such person's last known address, a written statement setting forth fully the grounds for the appeal. The Board of Commissioners shall set a time and place for hearing on such appeal, and notice of such hearing shall be given to the applicant in the same manner as provided in §
284-11 of this article for notice of hearing on revocation. The decision of the Board of Commissioners on such appeal shall be final and conclusive.
No person or certificate holder shall:
A. Peddle, solicit or distribute merchandise except between
the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., unless specifically having been
invited into a house by the occupant or having made an appointment
with a person previously.
B. Attempt to peddle, solicit or distribute merchandise
or printed material without first having identified himself as a peddler,
solicitor or distributor registered with the Town and displaying his
certificate.
C. Have exclusive right to any location in the public
streets or operate in any congested area where his operations might
impede or inconvenience the public.
D. Leave at a property or house or in any public place
circulars, samples or other matter, except newspapers, which shall
be defined as periodicals with a paid circulation of at least 90%
of its total circulation, except when handed to a person or house
occupant.
E. Enter or attempt to enter the land of any resident
in the Town without an express invitation from the occupant of the
house.
F. Conduct himself in such a manner as to become objectionable
to or annoy an occupant of any house.
G. Shout, cry out, blow a horn, ring a bell or use any
sound-making or amplifying device upon any of the streets, parks or
public places of the Town or upon private premises where sound of
sufficient volume is emitted or produced therefrom to be capable of
being plainly heard upon the streets, avenues, parks or other public
places of the Town, or upon private premises, for the purpose of attracting
attention to any merchandise or services.
H. Distribute obscene merchandise or printed material
or that which advocates unlawful conduct.
I. Litter the streets, public places or properties within
the Town with any merchandise or printed material.
J. Remain in one stationary location for more than 10
minutes and fail to move at least 300 feet within said ten-minute
period.
K. Any and all holders of registration certificates who
distribute, sell or peddle items of food shall be required to complete
at least twice each year a food-handler's course to be operated by
the Department of Health or a designated agency appointed by the Department
of Health. The cost of attending said course shall be borne by the
holder of the registration certificate.
[Added 12-15-1982 by Ord. No. 1582]
[Added 5-19-1993 by Ord. No. 2060]
A. No person, firm or entity, licensed or unlicensed,
shall engage in any activity as a peddler, solicitor, distributor
or transient merchant to sell, offer for sale or distribute with or
without charge any materials or services at any of the following locations
within the Town of West New York:
(1) Any sidewalk, street, park or public property within
a one-thousand-foot radius from the entrance to the West New York
swimming pool.
(2) Inside the entrance to the West New York swimming
pool on its property.
(3) At any other location within the Town of West New
York which is designated by the Mayor and Board of Commissioners as
being unsafe or unfit for the above activity, by posted sign.
B. The Town shall erect a sign at each of the above locations
prohibiting soliciting and listing the number of this section.
C. The penalty for violation of this section shall be
a fine of not more than $200 for a first offense and not more than
$500 for each subsequent offense. Each twenty-four-hour day or part
thereof shall be a separate offense for the purpose of imposing a
fine.
The following persons or organizations are exempt
from the payment of a fee and, in the discretion of the Commissioner
of Public Safety, the application and/or investigation procedures,
upon compliance with all other provisions of this article and submission
of applicable identification and documents to support the claim to
exemption:
A. Any recognized charitable or religious society that
shall conduct sales of personal property when the proceeds thereof
shall be applied to the payment of the expenses thereof and to the
charitable or religious object for which the society exists.
B. Any person honorably discharged from the military
services of the United States, possessing a peddler's license issued
in conformity with N.J.S.A. 45:24-9 and 45:24-10.
C. Any person who is an exempt fireman of a volunteer
fire department, as defined in N.J.S.A. 45:24-9 and 45:24-10, possessing
a license in conformity with said law.
D. Any public utility or its employees, which said public
utility is subject to regulation by the State Board of Public Utility
Commissioners; provided, however, that such employees shall display
the identification badge or card issued by their employer.
E. Any person selling fruits and farm products grown
by himself, with or without the help of others.
F. Any person engaged in the delivery of goods, wares
or merchandise or other articles or things, in the regular course
of business, to the premises of persons who had previously ordered
the same or were entitled to receive the same by reason of a prior
agreement.
G. Any school, political or recognized civic organization,
benevolent society, service club or organization not for profit which
is located in or has a substantial membership from the Town.