The Common Council finds that:
A. The Common Council of the City of Ithaca is concerned
about the use of rental properties located within the city for the purposes
of illegal drug use, possession and sale;
B. These illegal acts have a deleterious effect upon the
neighborhoods in which the properties are located; and
C. The remedies provided in § 715 of the New York
State Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law do not adequately address
the problems resulting from the aforementioned illegal acts; and the District
Attorney of Tompkins County is willing to proceed with evictions pursuant
to the attached Ordinance for Eviction for Illegal Drug Use and Possession.
A special proceeding to evict a tenant from leased premises may be maintained
upon the ground that the premises, or any part thereof, have been used or
occupied for the purpose of using or possessing illegal drugs. For purposes
of this section, the term "tenant," in addition to its ordinary meaning, shall
include an occupant of one or more rooms in a rooming house or a resident,
not including a transient occupant, of one or more rooms in a hotel who has
been in possession for 30 consecutive days or longer.
The procedures applicable to summary proceedings to recover possession
of real property under state law shall be applicable to any proceeding brought
under this chapter.
Two or more convictions of any person or persons had, within a period
of one year, for any of the offenses defined in Articles 220 or 221 of the
Penal Law arising out of conduct engaged in at the same real property consisting
of a dwelling as that term is defined in Subdivision 4 of Section 4 of the
Multiple Dwelling Law shall be presumptive evidence of conduct constituting
use and occupancy of the premises for the purpose of using and possessing
illegal drugs, and of the tenant knowledge thereof.
A court granting a petition pursuant to this section may, in addition
to any other order provided by law, make an order imposing and requiring the
payment by the respondent of a civil penalty not exceeding $5,000 to the municipality
in which the subject premises is located and the payment of reasonable attorneys'
fees and the costs of the proceeding to the petitioner. In any such case,
multiple respondents shall be jointly and severally liable for any payment
so ordered, and the amounts of such payments shall constitute a lien upon
the subject realty.