N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 90: Legislative findings

§ 90. Legislative findings. No victim of domestic violence, or other

person threatened with violence or in jeopardy of harm, should fail to

access police or emergency assistance when needed because of the fear

that doing so may result in losing their housing through eviction or

other actions to remove them from the property. Some local laws or

policies have the effect of treating such requests for police or

emergency aid as a disturbance constituting a "public nuisance" or

otherwise treating the individual faced with the violence and in need of

assistance as an undesirable tenant or undesirable influence on the

neighborhood based upon a call for help to their home. Legislation is

needed to assure that victims of violence or threats of harm or violence

are not penalized in relation to any law enforcement activity and

intervention necessary to address offender accountability and victim

safety.

Municipalities throughout the state have increasingly begun to adopt

local laws and ordinances to address public nuisances or other

intrusions on the quiet enjoyment of their residents and communities.

Despite their intent to aid communities, overly broad ordinances have

instead had a harmful chilling effect deterring victims of violence and

crime from accessing police assistance and have jeopardized public

safety. They also can unfairly penalize landlords when their tenants

need emergency assistance. Courts in New York and other states have

found such public ordinances to be unconstitutional because of these

harms. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

issued guidance in 2016 on how these ordinances can violate the Fair

Housing Act's prohibitions on discrimination based on sex, race,

disability, and national origin.

Given the negative impact that certain provisions have on the

community at large, and to victims of crime in particular, remedial

legislation is necessary that will both protect the rights of domestic

violence and crime victims and others to access essential police and

emergency assistance, as well as preserve the locality's right to

address conduct that may undermine the community's safety or integrity.

The legislature therefore finds that it is desirable to clarify the

law in this area in order to protect people from violence and crime.

The legislature further finds that there is a need to assure that

victims of violence, including persons threatened with harm or violence,

have a clear right to access assistance to protect personal or public

safety.

The legislature further finds that clarification in this area will

advance the state's interest in stopping crime and further the aims of

penal laws that depend on citizens to report incidents of crime to law

enforcement.

The legislature finally finds that there is a need to assure that

people who need emergency assistance, including persons with

disabilities, have a clear right to access assistance without fear of

penalty or reprisal.

With this remedial legislation the legislature specifically intends

that the coverage of this article includes, but is not limited to, laws

or ordinances that use any form of cumulative point system for the

purpose of identifying any persons or properties who or which would be

subject to municipal enforcement action.