Int. No. 610
By Council Members Espinal, Constantinides, Cohen, Cumbo, King, Levine, Rose, Torres, Greenfield, Gibson, Vacca and Rosenthal (by the request of the Bronx Borough President)
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the posting of information related to services offered at licensed appearance enhancement businesses.
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Chapter 5 of Title 20 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding subchapter 19 to read as follows:
§ 20-824. Required disclosures for appearance enhancement businesses. a. 1. On or before January 1, 2015, the department shall create a list of appearance enhancement consumers' rights that shall be made available to all appearance enhancement businesses within the city of New York that are licensed by the New York department of state pursuant to section 401 of the New York state general business law. For the purposes of this section appearance enhancement shall include: nail specialty, waxing, natural hair styling, the practice of esthetics and cosmetology as defined by section 400 of the New York state general business law.
2. Such list of consumers' rights shall state, at minimum that pursuant to section 401 of the general business law of the state of New York and part 160 of the New York code of rules and regulations:
(i) all businesses engaged in appearance enhancement in the city of New York are required to have a valid license issued by the New York department of state prominently displayed on the premises of such business;
(ii) prospective customers may retrieve the complaint history of any appearance enhancement business by visiting the department of state's website and referencing the business' license number;
(iii) every business engaged in appearance enhancement is subject to the safety and hygiene standards enforced by the State of New York;
(iv) customers are entitled to proper ventilation to prevent strong chemical odors from lingering;
(v) customers may ask that all tools and instruments be immersed in state approved disinfection liquids;
(vi) customers may request that any person providing them with appearance enhancement services wash their hands with soap and water prior to working on such customer; and
(vii) customers may file a complaint with the department of state regarding incompetence or the unlicensed practice of appearance enhancement.
b. The owner or operator of any appearance enhancement businesses shall conspicuously post such list of consumers' rights pursuant to subdivision a of this section on the premises of such appearance enhancement business in English and Spanish, and in a size and style to be determined by the commissioner.
§ 2. This local law shall take effect 120 days upon enactment; provided, however, that the commissioner shall take any actions necessary prior to such effective date for the implementation of this local law including, but not limited to, the adoption of any necessary rules.
C.E.B.
LS 2467
9/22/14