§ 20-231 Restrictions; size.
AC § 20-231
a. No newsstand shall be within three feet of private property without the consent of the owner of that property. b. Items other than newspapers, magazines, periodicals, and prepaid telecommunication or transit cards may be offered for sale from a newsstand if they are sold for less than ten dollars exclusive of taxes; provided, however, that apparel, jewelry, hair ornaments, handbags and video cassettes shall not be offered for sale from a newsstand and that if food items are offered for sale, they must be prepackaged. c. No new license shall be issued under section 20-229 unless approval for the location has been obtained from the department of transportation. d.
1.No license issued under section 20-229 shall be renewed if the department of transportation determines that the newsstand so licensed poses an obstruction to the free use of sidewalks by pedestrians at the time of review.
2.On and after the effective date of the local law that adds this paragraph two to this subdivision d of this section, a newsstand shall not be eligible for a renewal if the area of the sidewalk occupied by it exceeds seventy-two square feet or such newsstand exceeds nine feet in height.
(a)On and after such date, such newsstand that was first licensed on or after the first day of August, nineteen hundred ninety-one shall not pose an obstruction to the free use of the sidewalks by pedestrians if the location of such newsstand does not (i) reduce the area maintained on the sidewalk for pedestrian movement below a width of nine and one-half feet.
(ii)place the proposed newsstand within five feet of a fire hydrant.
(iii)create a level of service at the proposed location for the peak fifteen minutes of the peak hour of a pedestrian flow rate equal to or greater than eleven people per minute per linear foot of clear path, as determined by the department of transportation.
(iv)place the proposed newsstand within fifteen feet of an entrance to or exit from a subway.
(v)extend into the area encompassed by the extension of the property lines from the buildings to the curb at the intersection of two streets and the area ten feet on either side of such lines.
(vi)extend into a bus stop.
(vii)otherwise create a hazardous condition. For purposes of this subparagraph, a hazardous condition shall include, but not be limited to, the location of a newsstand less than one foot, six inches from the curb, under a fire escape, within ten feet of a driveway or parking lot or within two feet from underground access points, such as utility access openings, ventilation grills, or cellar doors.
(b)On and after such date, a newsstand that was first licensed prior to the first day of August, nineteen hundred ninety-one shall not pose an obstruction to the free use of the sidewalks by pedestrians if the location of such newsstand does not (i) reduce the area maintained on the sidewalk for pedestrian movement below a width of nine and one-half feet.
3.On or after the grant of such franchise, any newsstand applying for renewal of a license issued pursuant to section 20-229 of this subchapter may remain at its then current location if it meets the siting criteria applicable to the renewal of the license of such newsstand in subparagraph (a) or (b) of paragraph two of subdivision d of this section, or, if such location does not meet such criteria, such newsstand may be relocated in accordance with the process defined in paragraph five of this subdivision to a location that meets the criteria in subparagraph (a) of such paragraph two.
4.On or after the grant of such franchise, the department of transportation shall not exercise its authority, by granting revocable consents or other approvals, to authorize the installation of a structure at a location that would render the location of a licensed newsstand in violation of the siting criteria applicable to the renewal of licenses in subparagraph (a) or (b), as applicable to the renewal of the license of such newsstand, of paragraph two of subdivision d of this section unless the commissioner of such department finds that such installation is for the benefit of public health, safety, welfare or convenience. In the event the installation of a structure not prohibited by this paragraph four causes the location of a newsstand to be in violation of such criteria, such newsstand may be relocated pursuant to the process defined in paragraph five of this subdivision to a location that meets the criteria in subparagraph (a) of such paragraph two.
5.
6.The department of transportation shall conduct an inspection at the time of the reconstruction and installation of a newsstand by a franchisee in accordance with paragraph two of this subdivision. In addition, such department shall conduct inspections of all newsstands in the year two thousand eight and every six years thereafter to determine whether the location for which each newsstand is licensed violates any laws, rules or regulations applicable to the review by such department of applications for the renewal of licenses, notwithstanding that the term of such licenses is two years, and, except for determinations made pursuant to inspections made in accordance with such paragraph two of this subdivision at the time of the reconstruction and installation of a newsstand by a franchisee, the determination by such department that there is no such violation shall not be revised, except for a mistake of fact, by such department until such six year period has elapsed. (Am. L.L. 2020/080, 8/28/2020, eff. 8/28/2020) Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1997/029, L.L. 2003/064, and L.L. 2020/080.
