Town of Greenburgh, NY Hotels, Motels, Rooming Houses, Etc.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, whenever used in this chapter the following words, terms or phrases shall have the meanings given to them by this section:

ACCOMMODATION: Furnishings or facilities available for lodging or living purposes.

BASEMENT: The portion of a building that is partially or completely below the finished grade.
[Amended 5-22-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

BOARDER, ROOMER or LODGER: Any person not within the second degree of kindred, living or residing within the household of any family, who pays a valuable consideration for such residence and who does not occupy such space within the household as an incident of employment therein. This definition shall not include nor be deemed to include a parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, either by blood or through marriage, or guardian duly appointed by law.

BUILDING INSPECTOR: The Building Inspector of the Town of Greenburgh or his duly authorized representative.[1]

DWELLING: Any house or building or portion thereof which is occupied in whole or in part as the home, residence or sleeping place of one or more human beings.

FAMILY: Any number of individuals related by blood or by marriage, living and cooking together on the premises as a single housekeeping unit. Customary domestic servants are an adjunct to the term "family." However, when five or fewer individuals not related by blood or marriage wish to live and cook together on the premises as a single housekeeping unit, such individuals not exceeding five, exclusive of domestic servants, may be considered a family, providing a permit for such housekeeping unit has been issued by the Building Inspector. Such permit shall show the names of the persons constituting the proposed family unit.

HABITABLE ROOM: A room in a dwelling containing a minimum of 400 cubic feet of airspace and a minimum of 65 square feet of floor space per occupant.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT: The Department of Health of the County of Westchester or its duly authorized representative.

HEALTH OFFICER: The Commissioner of Health of the County of Westchester or his duly authorized representative.

HOTEL, MOTEL, ROOMING HOUSE, FURNISHED-ROOM HOUSE, LODGING HOUSE, DORMITORY, BOARDING HOME, CONVALESCENT HOME or NURSING HOME: A residence building or dwelling which is occupied, as a rule, transiently, as the temporary abode of individuals or families, other than the owner, lessee, manager or licensee, whether for hire or otherwise, with or without meals.

PERSON: Includes one or more persons of either sex, natural persons, corporations, partnerships, associations, joint-stock companies, societies and all other entities of any kind capable of being sued.

[1]

Editor's Note: The former definition of "cellar" which immediately followed, was repealed 5-22-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013.

It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct, keep, manage, operate or cause to be conducted, kept, managed or operated, either as owner, lessee, agent or attorney, a hotel, a motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home within the limits of the Town of Greenburgh, designed to accommodate six or more boarders, roomers or lodgers, without first having obtained and paid for, and having in full force and effect, a license so to do as hereinafter provided, and then only in accordance with the license granted.

Furthermore, it shall be understood that the provisions of this chapter, except such sections pertaining to fees, shall apply to the dormitories of charitable, educational and philanthropic institutions.

For the purpose of this chapter, hotels, motels, rooming houses, furnished-room houses, lodging houses, dormitories, boarding homes, convalescent homes or nursing homes shall be classified into two types. Said classifications shall be determined by the number of sleeping accommodations for boarders, roomers or lodgers in the premises so to be licensed, as follows:

(1)

Type 1: 17 or more sleeping accommodations.

(2)

Type 2: six to 16 sleeping accommodations.

§ 373-3 Application for license.

Any person desiring to procure a license as herein provided shall file with the Building Inspector a written application, in triplicate, verified by the oath of the applicant, upon forms furnished by the Building Inspector.

In addition to the information required by said application, the Building Inspector reserves the right and authority to require such other pertinent information as may be necessary for the safety, health and morals of the public.

The Building Inspector shall cause an inspection of the premises where the said hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home is to be conducted, to determine compliance with the regulations, ordinances and laws applicable thereto.

In the case of an application for a convalescent home or nursing home, such application shall be referred to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The Building Inspector or his assistants shall have the right to enter any hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home in said Town upon showing his credentials of office, at any reasonable time during his working hours in the performance of his duties.

§ 373-4 License.

Upon the receipt of the application, the Building Inspector may, upon his approval and the payment to the Town of the fee hereinafter provided, issue to the applicant a license to conduct a hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home. Said license shall be numbered in the order issued and shall state clearly and legibly thereon the location, date of issuance, date of expiration, type of location, fee paid, name of the licensee and the manager or person in charge, the number and location of the rooms to be used for the purpose so licensed and the legal number of occupants who may be accommodated therein.

All licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter shall expire on the 31st day of December of the year of issuance.

Licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter shall be personal to the applicant and shall not be transferable.

§ 373-5 Fees.

The fees for licenses to conduct a hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home shall be as follows:

(1)

Type 1 license: $25 per annum.

(2)

Type 2 license: $15 per annum.

No refunds shall be made on account of license fees for licenses voluntarily surrendered or legally revoked.

Whenever a license shall be lost, destroyed, defaced or mutilated beyond legibility, without fault on the part of the licensee, his agent or his employee, a duplicate license in lieu thereof under the original application may be issued by the Building Inspector in his discretion upon the payment of a recording fee of $1.

§ 373-6 Display of license.

Every licensee shall immediately display such license and keep the same displayed while in force in a conspicuous place in the office or hall of the premises so licensed.

It shall be unlawful to deface, mutilate, destroy or in any way alter said license.

§ 373-7 Revocation of license.

The Building Inspector may at any time, after giving notice to the licensee and an opportunity to be heard, revoke any license for any false statements contained in any application for such license, for disorderly, indecent or immoral conduct on the premises or for violation of any of the rules, regulations, ordinances or laws of the United States, State of New York, County of Westchester or the Town of Greenburgh. The Building Inspector shall cause notice of such hearing and the reason or reasons therefor to be served upon the persons named in the application as the licensee and also upon the owner of record of the premises so licensed. Said service shall be by registered mail with a return receipt directed to the licensee at the licensed premises and to the owner at the address of said owner last known to the Building Inspector, or by personal service.

§ 373-8 Register.

Every licensee shall keep or cause to be kept in permanent form a register in which there shall be recorded in ink or indelible pencil the true name or names in ordinary use and the residence of each and every person or guest renting or occupying a room or rooms therein, together with a true and accurate record of the room or rooms assigned to such person or persons and of the day and hour when such room or rooms is or are assigned. When the occupant or occupants of each room so rented or assigned shall quit and surrender the same, the licensee shall enter or cause to be entered the time and date thereof in the register opposite the name of such occupant or occupants.

Until the entry of such name or names and the record of the room or rooms shall have been made, such person or persons shall not be allowed to occupy privately any room upon the licensed premises.

The entry of the names of the persons engaging a room or rooms and of the occupants of such room or rooms shall be made by the person engaging such room or rooms or by an occupant thereof. The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to apply to a dormitory where persons occupying such accommodations are customarily assigned thereto by a responsible employee or officer of the institution or organization maintaining said dormitory.

Such register shall be open to the inspection of any guests of such house and any peace officer of the Town of Greenburgh or the County of Westchester or of the State of New York or of the United States.

In convalescent or nursing homes, said register shall also include the following: sex, color, age, marital status, occupation, place of birth, reason for discharge and, if death, the cause of death, name of attending physician and name and address of nearest relative or friend.

§ 373-9 Registration in true name.

No person shall write or cause to be written or, if in charge of a register, knowingly permit to be written in any register in a hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home, any other or different name or designation than the true name or names in ordinary use of the person registering or causing himself to be registered therein. No person occupying such room shall fail to register or fail to cause himself to be registered.

§ 373-10 Renting of rooms.

It shall be unlawful to allow any room or sleeping accommodations in any hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home, or nursing home to be used for sleeping or lodging purposes more than once in any twenty-four-hour period, except to a bona fide traveler with baggage.

§ 373-11 Numbering of living or sleeping units.

Every person conducting a hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home shall cause each sleeping unit and/or living unit in such house to be numbered in a plain, conspicuous, legible manner. Such numbers shall be placed on the outside of the outer door of the sleeping or living unit, and no two sleeping or living units shall bear the same number.

§ 373-12 Light; ventilation.

All rooms licensed to be used under the provisions of this chapter shall comply with the requirements of the Building Code[1] of the Town of Greenburgh in force and effect at the time the application therefor is filed.

[1]

See Ch. 100, Building, Fire and Plumbing.

All rooms, hallways and bathrooms shall be so constructed, ventilated and maintained as to be free of offensive odors, excessive moisture, condensation or dampness.

It shall be unlawful knowingly to cause or permit any person to use as a living unit or for sleeping purposes any bathroom, water-closet room, washroom, hallway, kitchen, storage room, open attic or any place dangerous or prejudicial to life or health by reason of want of ventilation or drainage or by reason of the presence of any poisonous, noxious, toxic or offensive odors or substances or otherwise.

[Amended 5-22-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

§ 373-13 Heating.

Every habitable room in every hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home shall be provided with safe and adequate facilities for heating to a temperature of not less than 70º F. Where heat is not provided from a central heating plant, other means approved by the Building Inspector shall be provided. The installation of any permanent or portable heating stove, space-heating device or tank water heater requiring the use of oil, coal, coke or gas as a fuel shall be connected to a chimney flue approved by the Building Inspector.

§ 373-14 Wiring. [1]

All electric wiring and appliances in every hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home shall at all times meet the approval of the New York Board of Fire Underwriters.

[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 110, Electricians.

§ 373-15 Cleanliness.

Every hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home and nursing home shall be at all times kept clean and free from dust, vermin, filth, improperly stored garbage and rubbish, in or on the premises belonging to or connected with the same. All water closets, washbasins, sinks, baths, windows, fixtures, fittings, painted surfaces, floors, walls and ceilings and other parts of building shall at all times be kept sanitary and in repair.

§ 373-16 Beds, bedding, sheets, and towels.

In every hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home and nursing home:

All beds, mattresses and pillows shall be kept in a sanitary condition and so arranged as to be at all times readily inspected.

Bedclothing, sheets and pillow slips shall be kept in a sanitary condition and shall be completely changed after use by different persons and in any event at least once a week when used continuously by the same person.

Each person shall be furnished with and kept supplied with clean, freshly laundered, individual towels. It shall be unlawful to provide guests with towels, drinking cups or other toilet accessories for common use.

§ 373-17 Fire protection. [1]

In every hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home and nursing home:

Each dwelling above the second floor shall be provided with at least two independent means of egress, approved by the Building Inspector.

Each dwelling located on the second floor shall be provided with means of egress as ordered and approved by the Building Inspector.

There shall be provided such fire protection equipment, appliances or devices as may be ordered or directed by the Building Inspector. Such fire protection equipment, appliances or devices shall be located where ordered or directed by the Building Inspector.

All exits shall be clearly and legibly identified and marked at all times.

[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 100, Building, Fire and Plumbing.

§ 373-18 Number of occupants.

[Amended 5-22-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

In every hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing, home, the occupancy shall not exceed 1.5 persons per habitable room, including the family, domestic servants, roomers, boarders or other persons occupying the dwelling, exclusive of bathrooms, hallways and closets.

§ 373-19 Sanitary facilities.

In every hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home:

There shall be adequate sanitary facilities consisting of water closets, lavatories and bathtubs.

All lavatories, bathtubs and showers shall be provided with an adequate supply of hot and cold water.

All sanitary facilities shall be maintained at all times in a safe operating condition and accessible for the use of lodgers free of charge.

Where it is deemed not practical to locate required sanitary facilities on the same floor as the lodgers, same may be located not more than one floor above or below. In convalescent and nursing homes, sanitary facilities must be located on the same floor with the lodgers.

[Amended 5-22-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

The sanitary facilities required by this section shall be deemed to mean the minimum requirements, except as hereinafter provided.

There shall be required in each location licensed, one water closet, one lavatory and one bathtub for each eight persons or fraction thereof accommodated on the premises, including the owner, lessee or manager, their families and employees.

In convalescent and nursing homes, the sanitary facilities required by this section shall be in addition to those provided for the convenience of the owner, lessee, manager, their families and employees.

An adequate supply of toilet paper, clean individual towels and either individual soap cakes or liquid or powdered soap shall be provided in approved dispensers. No source of water supply other than from the Town mains shall be provided unless previously approved by the Health Officer.

When such a use is so licensed for one sex only, no provision need be made for the other sex, anything herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.

§ 373-20 Food preparation and storage.

The preparation, keeping, storage and/or serving of food on the premises for consumption by lodgers, boarders or paying guests in a common dining room shall conform with existing regulations relating to public eating places.

In all convalescent and nursing homes, suitable equipment and facilities for the storage, preparation and serving of food and the washing and disinfection of dishes and utensils shall be provided and maintained in repair and in a sanitary condition.

§ 373-21 Reporting communicable disease and food poisoning.

When no physician is in attendance, it shall be the duty of the head of a private household or the person in charge of any hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, boarding home, dormitory, convalescent home or nursing home, having actual knowledge of an individual affected with any disease presumably communicable, to report immediately the name and address of such person to the Health Officer. Until official action on such case has been taken, strict isolation shall be maintained.

Every physician, nurse or other person in charge of any hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, convalescent home or nursing home who shall have knowledge of the occurrence of a number or group of cases of illness believed to have been due to the consumption of spoiled or poisonous food shall report the same immediately by telephone or telegram to the Health Officer.

§ 373-22 Unlawful use.

It shall be unlawful for any person in charge of any hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home, either as owner, agent, manager, clerk, servant or employee, to permit the same or any portion thereof to be used as a house of ill fame, brothel, bawdy or disorderly house, or permit the same to be used for the purpose of prostitution, fornication or lewdness, or suffer lascivious cohabitation, adultery, fornication or lewd practice to be carried on therein.

§ 373-23 Use of room by opposite sexes.

In every hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home and nursing home, no rooms shall be rented or assigned to or be privately occupied jointly by persons of opposite sex unless such persons shall be registered as husband and wife or as parent and minor child and have bona fide baggage, or are vouched for as husband and wife or as parent and child by a reputable citizen of the Town or by permission of a member of the Police Department, and in no case, notwithstanding such registration, if the manager or person in charge of such hotel, motel, lodging house, furnished-room house, rooming house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home shall have reasonable cause to believe that such persons do not bear the relation to each other as represented upon such register. It shall be unlawful for any two persons of opposite sex, except husband and wife or parent and minor child, to occupy jointly and privately any room or rooms in any hotel, motel, lodging house, rooming house, furnished-room house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home in the Town of Greenburgh.

§ 373-24 Supervision.

The members of the Police, Fire, Building and Health Departments shall have access at all reasonable times to all hotels, motels, rooming houses, furnished-room houses, lodging houses, dormitories, boarding homes, convalescent homes and nursing homes, for the purpose of investigating any complaint or enforcing any law, ordinance or regulations relating thereto.

§ 373-25 Penalties for offenses.

Any person who, himself or itself or by his or its agent or employee, shall knowingly make any false statement in any application for a license under the provisions of this chapter, or shall conduct, keep, manage or operate a hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home as defined in § 373-1 of this chapter, without a license, or who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter or rules or regulations made in pursuance thereof, or who, having had his or its license revoked, shall continue to conduct, keep, manage or operate such hotel, motel, rooming house, furnished-room house, lodging house, dormitory, boarding home, convalescent home or nursing home, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $50 for each offense, and each day on which such violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. In any prosecution for a violation of this chapter or in any proceedings thereunder for a revocation of a license wherein the relationship of any occupant of the licensed premises is at issue, the burden of proof shall be upon the licensee or the person against whom such a prosecution is made or proceeding brought.

§ 373-26 Validity.

If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

§ 373-27 Enforcement.

This chapter shall be enforced by the Building Inspector.