Bill Text: NY A09807 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Amended

---

Bill Title: Requires certain business signs to be posted in English where such information is also posted in another language; specifies penalties and cure periods for violations related to signage for merchandise establishments and services.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-04-19 - print number 9807a [A09807 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A09807-Amended.html

---

                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        9807--A
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                    April 10, 2012
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M. of A. MENG -- read once and referred to the Committee
         on Cities -- recommitted to the Committee on Cities in accordance with
         Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
         reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
       AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and  the
         general  business law, in relation to requiring certain business signs
         to be posted in English
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1. Subdivisions f, g, h and i of section 19-124 of the admin-
    2  istrative code of the city of New York are relettered subdivisions g, h,
    3  i and j and a new subdivision f is added to read as follows:
    4    F.  INFORMATION  REQUIRED.  1.     NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY   INCONSISTENT
    5  PROVISION  OF  THIS  SECTION,  A COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT THAT ERECTS OR
    6  MAINTAINS A CANOPY SHALL  BE  REQUIRED  TO  PAINT,  IMPRINT  OR  STENCIL
    7  DIRECTLY  UPON  THE  CANOPY,  WITHIN  THE  CHARACTER AND AREA LIMITATION
    8  PRESCRIBED BY THE ZONING RESOLUTION OF THE CITY, THE FIRM NAME  OR  DULY
    9  FILED TRADE NAME, AND THE ADDRESS OF THE PREMISES. WHEN SUCH INFORMATION
   10  IS  PROVIDED  IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IT MUST ALSO BE PROVIDED IN ENGLISH.
   11  THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL APPLY TO ALL COMMERCIAL  ESTAB-
   12  LISHMENTS  REGARDLESS  OF  WHETHER  THE ESTABLISHMENT OWNS OR LEASES THE
   13  PREMISES WHERE IT IS LOCATED.
   14    2. NO LEASE OF A PREMISES TO A COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT SUBJECT TO THE
   15  PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL PROHIBIT THE DISPLAY OF ANY  INFOR-
   16  MATION REQUIRED BY THIS SUBDIVISION.
   17    S  2.  Section  131 of the general business law, as amended by chapter
   18  496 of the laws of 1973, is amended to read as follows:
   19    S 131. [Ownership of] INFORMATION REGARDING merchandise establishments
   20  and services to be publicly revealed and displayed.   1.  Every  person,
   21  partnership,  association  or corporation owning or conducting any shop,
   22  store or other establishment or service wherein the sale of  merchandise
   23  at  retail  or  wholesale  is  carried  on or transacted or a service is
   24  performed as a business shall cause the true, full name,  including  the
   25  full first name or legally registered trade name or names of the propri-
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD13346-07-2
       A. 9807--A                          2
    1  etor  or  owner  or  proprietors  or owners of such shop, store or other
    2  establishment or service to be publicly  revealed  and  prominently  and
    3  legibly  displayed  in the English language either upon a window of such
    4  shop, store or other establishment or place where a service is performed
    5  or  upon  a  sign conspicuously placed upon the exterior of the building
    6  containing the same. [The foregoing provisions  shall  not  apply  to  a
    7  person, partnership, association or corporation operating under a lease,
    8  a department in a shop, store or other establishment or service as afor-
    9  esaid  where  the  lessor  of such shop, store or other establishment or
   10  service is liable to customers for merchandise sold  by  and  the  oper-
   11  ations of such leased department.] Failure to comply with the provisions
   12  of  this  section shall constitute a [misdemeanor] VIOLATION, PUNISHABLE
   13  BY A FINE OF TWO HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS FOR A FIRST OFFENSE; AND  A  FINE
   14  OF  FIVE  HUNDRED  DOLLARS FOR A SECOND OFFENSE, PROVIDED THAT A PERSON,
   15  PARTNERSHIP, ASSOCIATION OR CORPORATION MAY NOT BE CHARGED WITH A SECOND
   16  OFFENSE WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OF  THE  DATE  OF  CONVICTION  FOR  THE  FIRST
   17  OFFENSE;  AND A FINE OF FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A THIRD AND SUBSEQUENT
   18  OFFENSE, PROVIDED THAT A PERSON, PARTNERSHIP, ASSOCIATION OR CORPORATION
   19  MAY NOT BE CHARGED WITH A THIRD OFFENSE WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF  THE  DATE
   20  OF CONVICTION FOR THE SECOND OFFENSE.
   21    2.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  INCONSISTENT PROVISION OF THIS SECTION, IN A
   22  CITY WITH A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE, IN ALL DISTRICTS OF  SUCH
   23  CITY,  ANY  PERMITTED SIGN CONTAINING INFORMATION IMPRINTED OR DISPLAYED
   24  IN A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH SHALL ALSO CONTAIN THE SAME INFORMATION
   25  IN ENGLISH.
   26    S 3.  The New York City department of consumer affairs  shall  promul-
   27  gate  any  rules  and  regulations  necessary  to  give  effect  to  the
   28  provisions of this act, including but not limited to rules pertaining to
   29  the size and proportion of all English language signs  required  by  the
   30  provisions of this act.
   31    S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.