[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Cedarhurst 2-5-2007 by L.L. No. 1-2007. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 224.
It is the intent of this chapter to eliminate
danger and inconvenience to the public caused by the abandonment of
shopping carts in public places, including but not limited to streets,
sidewalks and parking fields within the Village of Cedarhurst, where
the abandoned carts may become an obstacle and hazard to pedestrian
and vehicular traffic.
A.
ABANDON
CART or SHOPPING CART
OWNER
PERSON
PUBLIC PLACE
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Includes leaving, discarding, dumping, throwing or placing
of shopping carts or similar devices in public places.
Any rolling or nonrolling basket or container and any parts
or parts thereof commonly used in supermarkets or self-service stores
as a conveyor or carrier of merchandise.
The merchant or purveyor of merchandise who provides patrons
with shopping carts and the person responsible for cart tag identification
under the provisions of this chapter.
Includes a natural person, a corporation, a partnership,
association, joint-stock company, society, limited-liability company
or profession, and any other entity capable of being sued in a court
of law.
Any street, avenue, road, alley, lane, highway, boulevard,
concourse, driveway, culvert, crosswalk, thoroughfare, off-street
parking area, parking field, commercial parking lot, municipal parking
facility, park, parking space, sidewalk, vacant lot, plot, parcel
of land and all other spaces or places available to or used by the
general public.
B.
Word usage. The words "or" and "and," as used herein,
may be construed interchangeably where such meaning is necessary to
effectuate the purpose of this chapter.
It shall be unlawful for any person to provide
carts for patrons' use on store or business premises unless the cart
has permanently affixed to it a sign, metallic tag or other means
for clearly identifying the owner of the cart and the specific store
location at which said cart is used.
It shall be unlawful for any owner to suffer
or permit any person to take any cart from the owner's premises or
parking area and thereafter abandon, discard, leave, place, suffer
or permit any cart to be left or placed in a public place.
At its discretion and in addition to any other
penalty authorized pursuant to this Code, the Village is hereby authorized
to seize and remove or cause to be removed any abandoned shopping
cart from any public place, without notice, and shall take or cause
the same to be taken to a facility for redemption or disposition as
hereinafter provided.
A.
Whenever the Village removes or causes to be removed
any shopping carts having identification of ownership or right of
possession, notice of the removal shall be sent by certified mail,
return receipt requested, advising of the removal, the facility to
which it was removed and the amount necessary to redeem this article.
B.
Any shopping carts removed from public places may
be redeemed by the owner thereof any time prior to disposal by the
Village by tendering to the office of the Village Clerk, during regular
business hours at his office, the sum of $5 for each cart, plus the
sum of $1 for each day or part thereof that the said property is held
by the Village after the owner has been duly notified by certified
mail.
C.
The Village Clerk shall require satisfactory proof
of ownership or lawful right to possession of the property sought,
prior to release. Any return of property by the Village Clerk to a
person claiming the same pursuant to this chapter shall be an absolute
defense to the Village against any other person claiming same.
In accordance with Article 13-A of the General
Municipal Law and Article 7-B of the Personal Property Law, the Village
Clerk may dispose of shopping carts held by the Village of Cedarhurst
for a period of 15 days or more at a public auction held pursuant
to notice.
A.
Public notice. Public notice of the auction shall
be given by publication once in the official newspaper or a newspaper
designated by the Village Board for Village notices, at least five
days prior to the auction, and shall contain the time and place of
the auction, together with a brief description of the articles to
be sold.
B.
Proceeds. All proceeds received from the redemption
of or sale of shopping carts at auction herein provided shall be collected,
applied and disbursed as damages to the Village of Cedarhurst for
the costs of administration of this chapter; and any such sales or
other dispositions shall be without liability on the part of the Village
to the owner of the carts or other persons having an interest therein.
Any person violating any of the provisions of
this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine
of not more than $250 for each violation.
