N.Y. General Business Law § 397-a: Distributing unsolicited advertising on private property prohibited; certain cities

§ 397-a. Distributing unsolicited advertising on private property

prohibited; certain cities. 1. In any city with a population of one

million or more, no person shall place, or cause or permit to be placed

on private property any unsolicited papers, fliers, pamphlets,

handbills, circulars, or other materials advertising a business or

soliciting business where the owner has posted, in a conspicuous

location, a sign stating that the placement of such materials shall be

prohibited. In a single family dwelling or a multiple family dwelling

that is owner-occupied and is designed for and occupied exclusively by

no more than three families, any owner of such property shall have the

authority to post such a sign. In all other multiple dwellings as

defined in section four of the multiple dwelling law, the property owner

shall only post such a sign if the owner or lessee of each separate

dwelling unit within the building or on such property agrees to prohibit

such solicitations, and any sign posted without the consent of at least

one unit owner or lessee of each such unit shall be invalid. In the

event that there are one or more units in which the unit owner or lessee

consents to the prohibition of such unsolicited advertising, the

property owner may instead post a sign designating a particular location

or an appropriate receptacle for the placement of such unsolicited

advertising, and limiting the number of such materials that may be

delivered to the property to an amount equal to the number of units in

which a unit owner or lessee has not consented to the prohibition. Any

such delivery location or receptacle shall be reasonably accessible to

such unit owners or lessees and to the distributors of such unsolicited

materials. When such a sign is posted, a person may only leave an amount

of unsolicited advertising materials that is equal to the number of unit

owners or lessees indicated on the sign, and such materials shall be

left in the location designated on the sign. Nothing contained in this

subdivision shall be deemed to prohibit or otherwise regulate the

delivery of any such matter by the United States postal service, or

prohibit the distribution of sample copies of newspapers regularly sold

by the copy or by annual subscription or sale or coupon newspapers and

magazines containing more than a deminimus amount of news that are

published at least weekly.

2. To be valid and enforceable, any sign prohibiting the delivery of

such unsolicited materials shall be at least five inches tall and seven

inches wide in size and shall state, in legible letters at least one

inch in size, as follows: "Do Not Place Unsolicited Advertising

Materials On This Property." In a multiple dwelling in which some unit

owners or lessees have consented to the prohibition of such unsolicited

materials, the property owner may post, in a conspicuous location, a

sign that is at least five inches tall and seven inches wide in size and

written in legible letters at least one inch in size, identifying the

number of unit owners or lessees who wish to receive unsolicited

materials and the location where such materials shall be placed.

3. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the person whose name,

telephone number, or other identifying information appears on any

unsolicited advertising materials described in subdivision one of this

section and placed at two or more premises shall be liable for any

violations of this section.

4. The provisions of this section may be enforced by an agency or

agencies, as designated by the mayor of such city. A civil penalty of

not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than one thousand

dollars shall be imposed for each violation of this section, but in no

event shall the total amount of such penalty exceed the sum of five

thousand dollars for the placement of materials on a single day. Each

unauthorized placement of materials at a single location where a sign is

posted as described in subdivision one of this section shall be

considered a separate violation of this section. Notwithstanding any

other provision of law, any notice of violation issued by an agency or

agencies, as designated by the mayor of such city, charging a violation

of this section shall be returnable to the environmental control board

of such city, which shall have the power to impose the civil penalties

herein provided; provided, however, that service of a notice of

violation charging a violation of this section may be made by (a) a

means prescribed for service of process by article three of the civil

practice law and rules or article three of the business corporation law,

or (b) by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the respondent's

last known residence or business address, provided that delivery of such

notice shall be restricted to the respondent. Service by certified mail

shall be deemed complete upon mailing of the notice of violation unless

the notice of violation is returned to the sender by the United States

postal service for any reasons other than refusal of delivery. All civil

penalties collected for any violations of subdivision one of this

section that have been imposed by the environmental control board of

such city shall be paid into the general fund of such city.

5. The agency or agencies of such city as designated by subdivision

four of this section shall be authorized to promulgate rules

implementing the provisions of this section.