Int. No. 794
By Council Members Koppell, Dromm, James, Williams, Palma and Koslowitz
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the sale and use of gas-powered leaf blowers.
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Section 24-242 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended to read as follows:
§24-242 Lawn Care Devices. (a) No person shall operate, [or] use, or cause to be operated or used, any lawn care device:
(1) On weekdays before eight a.m. and after seven p.m. or sunset, whichever occurs later; or
(2) On weekends and New York state and federal holidays before nine a.m. and after six p.m., except that no gas-powered leaf blower shall be used before noon on these days; or
(3) At any time in such a way as to create an unreasonable noise. For the purposes of this section unreasonable noise shall include but shall not be limited to an aggregate sound level of 75 db(A) or more for all non-gas-powered leaf blower lawn care devices, and an aggregate sound level exceeding 70 db(A) for gas-powered leaf blowers, attributable to the source or sources, as measured at any point within a receiving property. The provisions of paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall not apply to an employee of the department of parks and recreation or an agent or contractor of the department of parks and recreation who operates or uses or causes to be operated or used any lawn care device between the hours of seven a.m. and eight a.m. in any location more than three hundred feet from any building that is lawfully occupied for residential use. The distance of three hundred feet shall be measured in a straight line from the point on the exterior wall of such building nearest to any point in the location at which such lawn care device is operated or used or caused to be operated or used.
(b) No person shall operate, [or] use, or cause to be operated or used, any gas-powered leaf blower [not equipped with a functioning muffler] between or on the dates of May fifteenth and September fifteenth of any calendar year.
(c) No person shall operate, use, or cause to be operated or used, a gas-powered leaf blower rated to produce a maximum sound level in excess of 70 dB(A) as determined in accordance with the most current version of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) B175.2-2000.
§2. Chapter 4 of title 20 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new subchapter 13 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER 13
Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers
§ 20-699.7 Prohibited Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Sales. It shall be unlawful for any person to distribute, sell, or offer for sale any gas-powered leaf blower rated to produce a maximum sound level in excess of 70 db(A) as determined in accordance with the most current version of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) B175.2-2000.
§ 20-699.8 Penalty. Any person who violates any provision of this subchapter shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than two hundred dollars, except if the person has previously been found to have violated any provision of this subchapter in the previous twenty-four months, in which case the person shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than two hundred nor more than one thousand dollars.
§3. This local law shall take effect one year after its enactment.
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Cr-12/28/2011 Sv-2/28/2012 10:10 AM