N.Y. General Municipal Law § 88*2: Catv franchises prohibited

* § 88. Catv franchises prohibited. 1. As used in this section, the

following words shall have the following meanings unless the context

shall indicate another or different meaning.

(a) "Catv company". Any individual, partnership, association or

corporation owning, controlling, operating, managing or leasing a catv

system.

(b) "Catv system". Any facility which receives and amplifies the

signals broadcast by one or more television stations and redistributes

such signals by wire, cable or other means, or which distributes signals

it originates or which are originated by another for viewing by

subscribers, whether the wire, cable or other facilities are owned or

leased. A "catv system" shall not include:

i. the poles or other facilities of any telephone corporation used to

provide channel service as a common carrier,

ii. a system serving not more than two hundred fifty subscribers, or

iii. a master antenna system servicing subscribers situated on

property under common ownership.

(c) "Facility". Any real property, antennae, poles, wires, cables,

conduits, amplifiers, instruments, equipment, appliances, fixtures, and

other personal property used by a catv company in providing service to

its subscribers including that constructed in whole or in part in, on,

under or over any highway or other public place.

(d) "Franchise". Any authorization, permit, license or privilege

granted by a municipal corporation to construct, operate, maintain or

manage a catv system in the state.

2. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, until April first,

nineteen hundred seventy-three, no municipal corporation may give, grant

or award to any individual, partnership, association or corporation,

upon any terms or conditions whatever, any franchise for the purpose of

constructing, erecting, operating or maintaining any catv system in the

state.

3. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, for a period of one

year from the effective date of this section, no individual,

partnership, association or corporation shall construct, erect, operate

or maintain a nonfranchised catv system which is not in actual and

lawful operation on the effective date of this section, or enter into a

contract for the construction, erection, operation or maintenance of

such a nonfranchised catv system; nor shall any catv company engaged in

actual and lawful nonfranchised catv operations on the effective date of

this section expand the area of its operations during such period of

time.

4. Except as otherwise provided herein, the provisions of this section

shall not affect the authority of any catv company to operate pursuant

to any franchise heretofore awarded by any municipal corporation,

provided however, that all transfer, renewal or amendment of a franchise

(whenever awarded by a municipal corporation) taking effect for a period

of one year from the effective date of this section shall be subject to

review and confirmation by such department or agency of the state as may

hereafter be authorized to regulate the catv industry and the awarding

of catv franchises, in accordance with the provisions of the act so

authorizing such state department or agency to regulate.

5. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subsection or part of this

section shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be

invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the

remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause,

sentence, paragraph, subsection or part thereof directly involved in the

controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

* NB There are 2 § 88's