As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ANTIQUE
Any article or merchandise which is more than 50 years old.
DEALER IN SECONDHAND MERCHANDISE
Any person who, in any way as principal, broker or agent:
A.
Deals in the commercial purchase or sale of
secondhand merchandise or coins for any purpose;
B.
Accepts or receives secondhand merchandise as
returns of merchandise or in exchange for or for credit against the
price of any other articles or merchandise; or
C.
Deals in the commercial purchase or sale of
pawnbroker tickets or other evidence of pledged articles.
PERSON
An individual, partnership, unincorporated association, corporation
or other entity.
SECONDHAND MERCHANDISE
Any item which shall have been previously used or purchased
by a consumer, but shall not include:
A.
Automobiles, pianos, books, magazines, rugs,
tapestries, artists' burlaps, paintings, sculpture, drawings, etchings
and engravings.
B.
The first purchase or sale in the United States
of any imported used item.
C.
The acceptance or receipt of merchandise in
a new or used condition as a return or exchange or for credit or refund
if such merchandise was originally purchased as new merchandise from
the person accepting or receiving the same, or any resale of such
merchandise as new merchandise, or the first subsequent nonretail
sale or exchange of such merchandise as used merchandise.
D.
The first sale, at retail, of merchandise which
has been rebuilt by the manufacturer or vendor originally manufacturing
it, or the licensed agents thereof, and sold as factory-rebuilt merchandise.
E.
Articles sold or acquired by a thrift shop,
as defined to be so classified under the United States Internal Revenue
Code and entitled to an exemption as an eleemosynary corporation or
institution.
F.
Antiques having a value of less than $250 and
void of any serial numbers, monograms, initials or distinct markings.
It shall be unlawful for any person to act as
a dealer in secondhand merchandise within the limits of the Village
of Westbury without first having obtained, and having then in force,
a license therefor as hereinafter provided.
The Village Clerk shall keep any fingerprints, submitted by the applicant pursuant to §
198-4 of this chapter, on file in his office and may make any necessary investigation of the applicant's criminal record by using such fingerprints or otherwise. The cost of such investigation shall be paid by the applicant with a check made payable to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services or as otherwise specified by the Village Clerk. Failure by the applicant to submit such a check when required to do so by the Village Clerk shall constitute grounds for the denial of the application.
The Village Clerk may, in his discretion, before
the issuance of a license, require the applicant and any others having
knowledge of the facts to submit to an examination under oath and
to produce evidence relating thereto or may hold a hearing upon such
application as hereinafter provided.
A license granted pursuant to this chapter may
not be transferred by licensee to any other person.
Any applicant who has been denied a license
or who shall have been granted a license with conditions under this
chapter by the Village Clerk or whose license has been suspended or
revoked by the Village Clerk may apply to the Village Board for a
review of the action by the Village Clerk as hereinafter provided:
A. The application to review the Village Clerk's determination
shall be in writing, signed and verified by the applicant, and shall
state his reasons for claiming that the Village Clerk's determination
was erroneous.
B. The application for such review must be filed with
the Village Clerk by mail or in person within 20 days of the receipt
by the applicant of the determination by the Village Clerk.
C. Before any hearing shall be held by the Village Board,
the Village Clerk shall certify to the Village Board that the application
for review is complete and meets the requirements of this section.
Once such certification is made by the Village Clerk, the Village
Board shall hold a hearing thereon as hereinafter set forth.
A licensee shall place the license at all times
in a conspicuous location at the licensee's place of activity or business
for which the license was issued so that all persons visiting such
place may readily see the same.
Every dealer in secondhand merchandise shall
furnish to the appropriate police agency at the end of each business
day all information requested by the police agency relative to all
records required to be kept under this chapter. Such information shall
be furnished on forms to be designated and supplied by the appropriate
police agency.
Every dealer in secondhand merchandise who also
sells new merchandise within the licensed premises shall label all
secondhand merchandise in such manner that the public will be informed
of the nature of such merchandise.
It shall be unlawful for any dealer in secondhand
merchandise to:
A. Engage in selling activities at any place other than
the place of business designated in such license.
B. Purchase any secondhand merchandise from any person
he knows to be or has reason to believe is under the age of 18 years
old.
C. Purchase any secondhand merchandise from any person
between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
D. Sell or dispose of any secondhand merchandise, or
make any alteration, defacement or change in or to such merchandise,
until the expiration of 15 business days after the acquisition by
such dealer of such merchandise.
E. Be licensed as a pawnbroker or to engage in the business
of a pawnbroker; nor shall any sign or emblem be displayed by any
such dealer, in or about the premises where such business is conducted,
which in any way resembles the sign or emblem commonly used by pawnbrokers
or which is intended to give the appearance that the business conducted
on such premises is, or is connected with, the business of a pawnbroker.
The burden of proof that an article was originally
purchased from the person accepting or receiving it, that it was the
first subsequent sale or exchange thereof to a person other than an
ultimate consumer or that it was a first sale at retail of such factory-rebuilt
merchandise shall be upon the person asserting the same. Evidence
of an existing trade practice in the Village of Westbury or the County
of Nassau, if any, shall be admissible for the purpose of determining
whether or not merchandise is in new or used condition.
This chapter shall not create any liability
on the part of the Village of Westbury, its officers, agents or employees,
or the officers, agents and employees of the appropriate police agency,
for any act or damage caused as a result from reliance on this chapter
or any administrative decision lawfully made thereunder.
It shall be the duty of any police officer of
the appropriate police agency to require any person seen dealing in
secondhand merchandise, and who is not known by such police officer
to be duly licensed, to produce or display his dealer's license and
to enforce the provisions of this chapter against any person found
to be violating the same.