N.Y. General Business Law § 35-a: Veterans of the armed forces who vend in cities having a population of one million or more

§ 35-a. Veterans of the armed forces who vend in cities having a

population of one million or more. Subject to the provisions of this

section but notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of any general,

special or local law:

1. (a) In cities having a population of one million or more, the

official designated by a local law or ordinance to issue a local license

to hawk, peddle, vend and sell goods, wares or merchandise or solicit

trade upon the streets and highways within such city shall issue

specialized vending licenses to members of the armed forces of the

United States who (i) were honorably discharged from such service, or

(ii) have a qualifying condition, as defined in section one of the

veterans' services law, and received a discharge other than bad conduct

or dishonorable from such service, or (iii) are a discharged LGBT

veteran, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and

received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such

service, and who are physically disabled as a result of injuries

received while in the service of said armed forces and who are eligible

to hold licenses granted pursuant to section thirty-two of this article.

Such specialized vending licenses shall authorize holders thereof to

hawk or peddle within such city in accordance with the provisions

contained in this section. Specialized vending licenses issued under

this section shall permit the holders thereof to vend on any block face,

and no licensee authorized under this section shall be restricted in any

way from vending in any area, except as provided in this section.

(b) The official in such city responsible for issuing specialized

vending licenses shall set forth by rule procedures for issuing

specialized vending licenses pursuant to this section; such rules shall

establish a priority system, based upon the date of application for

specialized vending licenses issued pursuant to this section, provided,

however, that any disabled veteran vendor holding a specialized vending

license issued in such city prior to March first, two thousand three,

shall be accorded a priority based upon the date of issuance of such

specialized vending license.

2. In areas where general vending is authorized, outside of the area

specified in subdivision seven of this section, all specialized vending

license holders, including those vendors authorized to vend in the area

specified in subdivision seven of this section, shall be subject to

those restrictions on the placement of vehicles, pushcarts and stands

contained in any local law, ordinance, by-law, rule or regulation of a

city having a population of one million or more, to the extent that such

restrictions are not inconsistent with the provisions contained in

subdivisions four, five, six and eight of this section.

3. Specialized vending licenses issued pursuant to this section shall

authorize the holders thereof to vend on block faces, outside the area

specified in subdivision seven of this section, on the days and at the

times when other vending businesses have been prohibited on such block

faces pursuant to any local law, ordinance, by-law, rule or regulation.

Not more than two such specialized vending licensees shall be authorized

pursuant to this subdivision per restricted block face, provided that no

restriction shall apply to such licensees when vending on such block

faces except as provided in paragraphs (e), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k) and

(l) of subdivision seven of this section; and provided further no

specialized vending licensee shall vend on any sidewalk unless such

sidewalk has at least a ten-foot wide clear pedestrian path to be

measured from the boundary of any private property to any obstructions

in or on the sidewalk, or if there are no obstructions, to the curb.

Where three or more specialized vending license holders attempt to vend

simultaneously on the same block face, the two specialized vending

license holders with the higher priority, as established pursuant to

paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this section, shall have the

exclusive right to vend on such block face, and any other specialized

vending license holder vending on such block face shall be deemed to be

vending without first having obtained a license.

4. Where exigent circumstances exist, a police officer of the city may

order a specialized vending license holder to temporarily move from a

location; for purposes of this subdivision, "exigent circumstances"

shall mean an immediate threat to public safety caused by unusual and

severe pedestrian congestion due to an impediment other than the

specialized vending license holder, or by an accident, fire, parade,

demonstration or other emergency situation. Nothing herein shall be

construed to limit such city's authority to place restrictions on

vending in order to protect national security.

5. Specialized vending licenses to vend shall be accompanied by a

photographic color coded identification which shall include the priority

number established pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this

section, and shall be displayed by such specialized vending license

holder.

6. Specialized vending licenses to vend shall not be loaned, leased,

subcontracted or otherwise transferred except:

(a) Upon the death of the disabled veteran who held the license, the

license shall be transferred by operation of law to the surviving spouse

or, if there is no surviving spouse or the surviving spouse elects not

to use the license, to the guardian of a minor child or children who may

use the license for the support of the minor child or children. The

license shall revert to the licensing agency for reassignment upon the

death of the surviving spouse, if the surviving spouse remarries, when

the youngest minor child reaches age eighteen, or when either the

surviving spouse or guardian of the minor child or children elects not

to use the license to vend in the city of New York or abandons the use

of the license. Temporary periods when the spouse or guardian do not

vend shall not cause the license to revert to the licensing agency in

the absence of other evidence of an intent to abandon the use of the

license; a period of six months or more in which the holder of the

license does not vend shall create a rebuttable presumption that the

spouse or guardian has abandoned the use of the license; and

(b) If the veteran who holds the license becomes totally and

permanently disabled, the holder of the license may transfer it to the

holder's spouse or, if the veteran has no spouse, to an adult child if

the child assumes the duty to support the veteran. The license shall

revert to the licensing agency when: (1) the veteran who held the

license immediately before the transfer dies; (2) the spouse dies or

divorces the veteran who held the license immediately before the

transfer; or (3) the child to whom the license is transferred dies or

renounces the obligation to support the veteran who held the license

immediately before the transfer.

7. In the borough of Manhattan in the city of New York in the area

bounded on the east by Second avenue, on the south by Thirtieth street,

on the west by Ninth avenue and Columbus avenue and on the north by

Sixty-fifth street, the following additional provisions shall apply to

the issuance of specialized vending licenses to disabled veteran vendors

pursuant to this section:

(a) such specialized vending license holders shall be prohibited from

vending on Second avenue, Third avenue, Lexington avenue, Park avenue,

Vanderbilt avenue, Madison avenue, Fifth avenue, Sixth avenue, Seventh

avenue, Broadway, Eighth avenue, Amsterdam avenue, Ninth avenue,

Columbus avenue, Thirty-fourth street between Lexington avenue and

Seventh avenue, Forty-second street between Lexington avenue and Eighth

avenue, Forty-ninth street between Lexington avenue and Seventh avenue,

Fiftieth street between Lexington Avenue and Seventh avenue and

Fifty-seventh street between Lexington Avenue and Seventh avenue;

(b) there shall be a limit of one authorized specialized vending

license holder per block face;

(c) there shall be a limit of one hundred five specialized vending

license holders authorized to vend within the area at any one time to be

allocated as follows: sixty upon the effective date of the chapter of

the laws of two thousand four which amended this paragraph, an

additional fifteen commencing three months from the effective date of

the chapter of the laws of two thousand four which amended this

paragraph, and an additional ten in each of the succeeding three years

commencing on January thirty-first, two thousand five;

(d) the rule set forth pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision one of

this section shall establish, pursuant to the priority system,

procedures for issuing specialized vending licenses pursuant to

paragraph (c) of this subdivision; any dispute regarding the

implementation of such procedure shall be subject to a prompt hearing

before an administrative law judge with the New York state department of

labor, provided that if such judge determines that a specialized vending

license holder willfully violated such procedure, such specialized

vending license holder shall be subject to a thirty day suspension of

the specialized vending license to peddle in the area described in this

subdivision; if any specialized vending license holder who has been

determined to have willfully violated such procedure is determined, in a

subsequent proceeding, to have willfully violated such procedure at any

time following the initial violation, such specialized vending license

holder shall be subject to a one-year suspension of the specialized

vending license to peddle in the area described in this subdivision; if

such specialized vending license holder is determined for a third time

to have willfully violated such procedure, such specialized vending

license holder shall be subject to permanent revocation of the

specialized vending license to peddle in the area described in this

subdivision;

(e) specialized vending licensees under this section shall:

(i) permit regular inspections by the official in such city

responsible for issuing specialized vending licenses or any authorized

city agency of any goods, vehicle, pushcart, or stand used in the

operation of the vending business, or any premises used by him or her

for the storage or preparation of goods intended to be vended in such

business; and

(ii) provide the official in such city responsible for issuing

specialized vending licenses or other authorized officer of the city on

a semi-annual basis, or more often if required by local law, by-law or

regulation in such city, the address and name of the owners or the

manufacturers, suppliers or distributors from whom the specialized

vending licensee receives his or her goods and also the address at which

the specialized vending licensee stores his or her goods or any vehicle,

pushcart or stand used in the operation of the vending business;

(f) no specialized vending licensee shall vend on any sidewalk unless

such sidewalk is at least ten feet in width;

(g) no vending vehicle, pushcart, stand, goods, or any other item

related to the operation of a vending business shall touch, lean against

or be affixed permanently or temporarily to any building or structure

including, but not limited to, lamp posts, parking meters, mail boxes,

traffic signal stanchions, fire hydrants, tree boxes, benches, bus

shelters, refuse baskets or traffic barriers;

(h) no vending pushcart, stand or goods shall be located against

display windows of fixed location businesses, nor shall they be within

twenty feet from an entranceway to any commercial building or store,

measured as a radius extending from the center of the doorway, except

where such doorways are within forty feet from each other, and in such

case a vending pushcart, stand or goods shall be an equal distance from

the center of the doorway of each such commercial business or store at

the furthest possible distance on the sidewalk from the building line,

and no vending pushcart, stand or goods shall be within sixty-five feet

of the entranceway to any theater, movie house, indoor sports arena, or

place of worship or school, measured as a radius extending from the

center of such entranceway;

(i) no specialized vending licensee shall occupy more than eight

linear feet of public space parallel to the curb in the operation of a

vending business and, in addition, no specialized vending licensee

operating any vending business on any sidewalk shall occupy more than

three linear feet to be measured from the curb toward the property line;

(j) each specialized vending licensee who vends from a pushcart or

stand in the roadway shall obey all traffic and parking laws, rules and

regulations as now exist or as may be promulgated, but in no case shall

a specialized vending licensee restrict the continued maintenance of a

clear passageway for vehicles;

(k) no specialized vending licensee shall vend using the surface of

the sidewalk, or a blanket or board placed immediately on the sidewalk

or on top of a trash receptacle or cardboard boxes to display

merchandise. No specialized vending licensee display may exceed five

feet in height from ground level. The display may not be less than

twenty-four inches above the sidewalk where the display surface is

parallel to the sidewalk, and may not be less than twelve inches above

the sidewalk where the display surface is vertical. Where a rack or

other display structure is placed on top of or above a table or other

base, the size of the base shall not be less than the size of the

display structure placed thereon. Nothing shall be placed on the base so

as to exceed the size limitations contained in this paragraph. No

specialized vending licensee shall use any area other than that area

immediately beneath the surface of the display space of the storage of

items for sale; and

(l) no specialized vending licensee shall:

(i) vend within any bus stop or taxi stand or within ten feet of any

driveway, any subway entrance or exit or any corner; provided, however,

for the purpose of this subparagraph, ten feet from any corner shall be

measured from a point where the property line on the nearest

intersecting block face, when extended, meets the curb, except when

noncompliance with the ten foot limitation of this paragraph is due to

the placement of an obstruction. In such case the specialized vending

licensee may vend within ten feet; provided, however, that such licensee

must vend as far as possible from the nearest such driveway, subway

entrance or exit, or corner, and in no event within five feet of such

driveway, subway entrance or exit, or corner;

(ii) vend on the median strip of a divided roadway unless such strip

is intended for use as a pedestrian mall or plaza;

(iii) vend over any ventilation grill, cellar door, manhole,

transformer vault, or subway access grating;

(iv) sell or offer for sale any item directly from any parked or

double-parked motor vehicle;

(v) use electricity or oil or gasoline powered equipment devices or

machinery of any kind; provided, however, that such specialized vending

license holder shall be authorized to use self-contained battery packs

not exceeding sixteen volts in total solely to provide lighting for

their vending business;

(vi) vend within thirty feet of an entrance to a park or within a park

under the jurisdiction of the agency in such city that is responsible

for such city's parks and recreational areas unless written

authorization therefor has been obtained from such agency;

(vii) vend within twenty feet of a sidewalk cafe;

(viii) vend within five feet from bus shelters, news stands, public

telephones, or disabled access ramps; and

(ix) vend within ten feet from entrances or exits to buildings which

are exclusively residential at street level.

7-a. In the borough of Manhattan in the city of New York, the

following additional provisions shall apply to the issuance of

specialized vending licenses to disabled veteran vendors pursuant to

this section:

(a) such specialized vending license holders shall additionally be

prohibited from vending on Broadway between Murray Street and Battery

Place and on Park Row between Ann Street and Spruce Street;

(b) such specialized vending license holders shall additionally be

prohibited from vending in the area including and bounded on the east by

the easterly side of Broadway, on the south by the southerly side of

Liberty Street, on the west by the westerly side of West Street and on

the north by the northerly side of Vesey Street.

8. Any dispute concerning the location of a vendor under subdivision

three of this section shall be subject to a prompt hearing before an

administrative law judge with the New York state department of labor,

provided that if such judge determines that a specialized vending

license holder willfully violated such procedure, such specialized

vending license holder shall be subject to a thirty day suspension of

the specialized vending license to peddle in the area and on the days

and at the times described in subdivision three of this section; if any

specialized vending license holder who has been determined to have

willfully violated such procedure is determined, in a subsequent

proceeding, to have willfully violated such procedure at any time

following the initial violation, such specialized vending license holder

shall be subject to a one-year suspension of the specialized vending

license to peddle in the area and on the days and at the times described

in subdivision three of this section; if such specialized vending

license holder is determined for a third time to have willfully violated

such procedure, such specialized vending license holder shall be subject

to permanent revocation of the specialized vending license to peddle in

the area and on the days and at the times described in subdivision

three of this section; other disputes arising under this section, other

than those disputes arising under paragraph (d) of subdivision seven of

this section, shall be adjudicated in accordance with local laws,

ordinances, by-laws or regulations concerning general vending.

9. There shall be established within the agency responsible for

issuing specialized vending licenses in such city an advisory committee

consisting of up to six disabled veteran vendors who shall consult with

the official designated to issue specialized vending licenses under this

section concerning the process by which specialized vending licenses are

issued and the restrictions herein are enforced. The members of such

committee shall be elected on or before August first, nineteen hundred

ninety-eight by a majority of the disabled veteran vendors holding

general vending licenses in such city as of August fifteenth, nineteen

hundred ninety-eight. The election of such members shall be by an

election which shall be conducted by the state department of labor;

provided, however, that if the majority of such disabled veteran vendors

holding general vendor licenses in such city as of June fifteenth,

nineteen hundred ninety-eight fail to select the members of such

committee on or before August second, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, the

agency responsible for issuing specialized vending licenses in such city

may still establish procedures for issuing specialized vending licenses

pursuant to this section no later than October first, nineteen hundred

ninety-eight. In the event a committee member resigns or is unable to

fulfill his or her duties, such member will be replaced by someone from

the ranks of the disabled veteran vendors by consensus of veterans on

the existing committee.

10. The agency responsible for issuing specialized vending licenses

shall publish educational materials describing the provisions of state

and local laws, rules and regulations governing disabled veteran vending

in the city of New York and enforcement thereof for distribution to the

public and appropriate city enforcement agencies.

11. Where the city of New York authorizes general vending, through

permit, auction, lottery or any other method subsequent to the effective

date of this subdivision other than temporary general vendor licenses

issued in connection with street fairs on any block face, street or

avenue specified in paragraph (a) of subdivision seven or subdivision

seven-a of this section, the prohibitions and restrictions in this

section on vending by specialized vending licensees shall not apply on

such block face, street or avenue and the number of specialized vending

licensees authorized per block face, street or avenue shall, at a

minimum, be equal to the greatest number of any single type of other

vendor including but not limited to food, general, or vendors of written

matter and others similarly situated on such block face, street or

avenue.