[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Fishkill
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 1-2-2008 by L.L. No. 1-2008]
This article is enacted for the purpose of regulating the peddling
and soliciting of merchandise and of services so that the peace, health,
safety, welfare and good order in the Town of Fishkill, and of the
inhabitants thereof, shall not be endangered or unduly disturbed.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, unincorporated
association, and any principal, agent or employee thereof, and all
other entities of any kind.
Includes all areas legally open to public use as public streets,
sidewalks, roadways, highways, parkways, alleys and any other public
way (except state highways, pursuant to Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1157,
as hereinafter amended or revised).
[Added 10-15-2008 by L.L. No. 9-2008]
Any person who goes from place to place or house to house,
or who stands in any roadway or public place, taking or offering to
take orders for goods, wares or merchandise, or for services to be
performed in the future, or for making, manufacturing or repairing
any article or thing whatsoever for future delivery.
Any person, either principal or agent, who, from any vehicle
or any public road or public place, or by going from house to house
or place of business to place of business, on foot or from any animal
or vehicle, sells or barters, offers for sale or barter, or carries
or exposes for sale or barter any goods, wares or merchandise.
[Amended 10-15-2008 by L.L. No. 9-2008]
A.
License required. It shall be unlawful for any person, unless exempt from the provisions of this article as provided in § 112-4, to act as a vendor, hawker, peddler or solicitor without first having obtained and paid for, and having in force and effect, a hawking and peddling license pursuant to this article. All licenses issued pursuant to this article shall be nontransferable.
B.
Restrictions. Pursuant to Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1157,
as hereinafter amended or revised, no person shall occupy any part
of a state highway within the Town for the purpose of selling or soliciting.
[Amended 10-15-2008 by L.L. No. 9-2008]
A.
No part of this article shall be enforced so as to conflict with
Article 4 of the New York State General Business Law.
B.
The requirements of this article shall not apply to the following:
(1)
The peddling of meats, fish, fruits and farm products by farmers
and persons who produce such commodities. The term "farm products"
shall not include nursery stock, potted plants or cut flowers;
(2)
Representatives of any not-for-profit religious, charitable, educational,
civic or political organizations, provided that appropriate insignia,
clothing or other identifications are displayed so that the public
may identify the organization;
(3)
Any not-for-profit membership, organization or corporation such as
the Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of America, Little League,
Soccer League, Football League, local volunteer firemen, local ambulance
or life safety volunteers, or similar such organizations. Whether
an organization not listed qualifies under this section is within
the sole discretion of the enforcement officer;
(4)
Candidates for elective office or their representatives.
Application for a hawking and peddling license shall be made by the applicant on a form provided by the Town Clerk. After approval of said application by the Town Board, the Town Clerk shall be authorized to issue such license upon receiving the license fee herein specified in § 112-6 below.
The license fee shall be according to a fee schedule established
by the Town Board of the Town of Fishkill.
Any person or persons having obtained a license under the provisions
of this article and who is using a vehicle shall place upon either
side of the body of such vehicle the words "licensed vendor," together
with the number of such license.
No person shall use any vehicle for vending fruit or any article
of food that has been used for the purpose of carting manure, rags,
garbage, ashes or any material which would injuriously affect such
fruit or food, or contact with which would render such fruit or food
unfit for human consumption, without first thoroughly cleaning such
vehicle and removing all traces of such former use.
All licenses issued hereunder shall expire on the 31st day of
December in the year in which issued. Any person holding a license
shall file an application for a renewal thereof with the Town Clerk
of the Town of Fishkill on or before the first day of December in
each year for a license for the ensuing year.
A.
Permits and licenses under the provisions of this article may be
revoked by the Town Board after notice and public hearing for any
of the following reasons:
(1)
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement contained in the application
for license.
(2)
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement made in the course of
carrying on the business licensed under this article.
(3)
Any violation of this article.
(4)
Conviction of any crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.
(5)
Conducting the business licensed under this article in an unlawful
manner or in such a manner as to constitute a breach of peace or to
constitute a menace to the health, safety or general welfare of the
public.
B.
Notice of hearing for revocation of a license shall be given in writing,
setting forth specifically the grounds of complaint and the time and
place of hearing. Such notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid, to
the licensee at his last known address at least five days prior to
the date set for hearing.
C.
The Town Supervisor shall have the power to temporarily suspend any
license upon receipt of a written complaint, pending the hearing provided
for herein.
Any person committing an offense against any provision of this
article shall be guilty of a violation punishable by a fine not exceeding
$250 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 days, or by both
such fine and imprisonment. The continuation of an offense against
the provisions of this article shall constitute, for each day the
offense is continued, a separate and distinct offense hereunder.
[Amended 10-20-2021 by L.L. No. 8-2021]
This article shall be enforced by any Zoning Administrator,
Building Inspector, Code Enforcement Officer, or police officer of
the Town of Fishkill.
[Adopted 10-20-2021 by L.L. No. 5-2021]
A.
The Town of Fishkill recognizes a constitutional permittance to beg
or solicit in a peaceful and nonthreatening manner. The Town Board
finds that legislation is necessary in order to protect persons from
threatening, intimidating or harassing behavior, to keep public places
safe and attractive for use by all members of the community and to
maintain and preserve public places where all of the community can
interact in a peaceful manner. This legislation is also intended to
provide for the free flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on streets
and sidewalks in the Town of Fishkill, to promote tourism and business
and preserve the quality of urban life.
B.
The Town of Fishkill finds that aggressive acts associated with solicitation
tend to interfere with the free flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic
and intimidate persons in public places, and can lead to disruption
and disorder in public places. Aggressive acts can also cause persons
to avoid public places and lead to declining patronage of commercial
establishments and tourism. The Town Board further finds that solicitation
in certain public places is inconsistent with the use of those places,
is inherently intimidating, targets persons who are captive audiences
or constitutes an invasion of privacy as persons are not able to simply
move on if they do not wish to speak to the person soliciting. Solicitation
in proximity to bank entrances or check-cashing businesses or automated
teller machines is inherently intimidating and should be restricted.
C.
This legislation is intended to promote the health, safety, and welfare
of the citizens and visitors to the Town of Fishkill.
This article is adopted pursuant to Municipal Home Rule Law,
§ 10.
For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall
have the following meanings unless otherwise dictated:
Intentionally or recklessly making any physical contact with
or touching another person in the course of solicitation, or approaching
within arm's length of the person, except with the person's
consent; or
Following the person being solicited, if that conduct is intended
to or is likely to cause a reasonable person to fear imminent bodily
harm or the commission of a criminal act upon property in the person's
possession, or is intended to or is reasonably likely to intimidate
the person being solicited into responding affirmatively to the solicitation;
or
Continuing to solicit within five feet of the person being solicited
after the person has made a negative response, if continuing the solicitation
is intended to or is likely to cause a reasonable person to fear imminent
bodily harm or the commission of a criminal act upon property in the
person's possession, or is intended to or is likely to intimidate
the person being solicited into responding affirmatively to the solicitation;
or
Intentionally or recklessly blocking the safe or free passage
of the person being solicited or requiring the person, or the driver
of a vehicle, to take evasive action to avoid physical contact with
the person making the solicitation; or
Intentionally or recklessly using words intended to or likely
to cause a reasonable person to fear imminent bodily harm or the commission
of a criminal act upon property in the person's possession, or
intended or likely to intimidate the person into responding affirmatively
to the solicitation; or
Approaching the person being solicited in a manner that is intended
to or is likely to cause a reasonable person to fear imminent bodily
harm or the commission of a criminal act upon property in the person's
possession or intended to or is likely to intimidate the person being
solicited into responding affirmatively to the solicitation.
A device, linked to a financial institution's account
records, which is able to carry out transactions, including but not
limited to account transfers, deposits, cash withdrawals, balance
inquiries, and mortgage and loan payments.
The area comprised of one or more automated teller machines,
and any adjacent space which is made available to banking customers
after regular banking hours.
All banks, trust companies, private bankers, savings banks,
industrial banks, safe deposit companies, savings and loan associations,
credit unions and investment companies as defined in § 2
of the New York State Banking Law.
Any individual, partnership, unincorporated association or
corporation duly licensed by the New York State Superintendent of
Banks to engage in business pursuant to the provisions of Article
IX-A of the New York State Banking Law.
An off-street area used for the temporary storage of self-propelled
vehicles and available for public use, whether free, for compensation
or as an accommodation for clients or customers. Parking areas shall
also include parking garages, parking ramps, and municipal parking
lots.
Any area or building owned, leased, operated or controlled
by or on behalf of any government, municipality, public authority
or public corporation in the Town of Fishkill which is generally accessible
by the public, including but not limited to any street, including
the sidewalk portion thereof, walkway, bridge, tunnel, park, playground,
recreation area, cemetery, school, or school grounds, building, facility,
driveway, parking lot or parking garage, and the doorways and entrances
to buildings and dwellings.
Includes, without limitation, the spoken, written, or printed
word or such other acts or bodily gestures as are conducted in furtherance
of the purposes of immediately obtaining money or any other thing
of value.
A.
No person shall solicit in an aggressive manner in a public place.
B.
No person shall solicit on public property within 20 feet of an automated
teller machine or an entrance or exit of an automated teller machine
facility during the time the automated teller machine is available
for customers' use; or within 20 feet of an entrance or exit
to a banking organization or a licensed casher of checks during its
business hours.
C.
No person shall solicit when either the person soliciting or the
person being solicited is in a public bus shelter or at a public bus
stop.
D.
No person shall solicit in a public parking area as defined in this
article.
E.
No person shall solicit in any portion of a public pedestrian walkway,
pathway, tunnel or other location where such soliciting person's
stationary presence would tend to impede the free flow of pedestrian
traffic.
F.
No person on a sidewalk or in any location alongside a public roadway
shall solicit from any occupant of a motor vehicle that is on a street
or other public place.
This article is classified as a Type II action as it involves
the adoption of regulations, policies, procedures and local legislative
decisions in connection with routine or continuing agency administration
and management, not including new programs or major reordering of
priorities that may affect the environment.
A violation of this article shall be classified as a "violation"
as that term is defined in the Penal Law. A person convicted of violating
this article shall be fined not less than $25 nor more than $50 and,
in addition for a second conviction within 12 months of a preceding
conviction, may be imprisoned for a term not longer than 15 days.
In lieu of a fine, the court may impose an appropriate alternative
sentence; provided, however, that an alternative sentence shall not
be an unconditional discharge.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, word, section or other part
of this article, or the application thereof to any person, entity,
or circumstance, shall be determined by any court or tribunal of competent
jurisdiction to be unconstitutional, illegal, invalid or unenforceable,
such determination shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remaining
provisions of this article or the application thereof, but shall be
confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, word,
section or other part thereof directly involved in the controversy
in which such determination shall have been rendered and the remaining
provisions of this article shall not be impaired thereby and such
determination. The Town Board of the Town of Fishkill hereby declares
that it would have passed this article or the remaining provisions
thereof had such invalid provision or the application thereof been
apparent at the time of enactment.
This article shall be effective immediately upon filing with
the Secretary of State.
