Int. No. 177
By Council Members Vallone, Jr., Fidler, James, Nelson, Rodriguez, Williams and Halloran
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring that commercial shopping establishments that maintain a parking area of at least 200 spaces install, maintain and operate a surveillance camera or cameras in order to deter crime.
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Declaration of Legislative Findings and Intent. The City Council finds that in order to continue the dramatic decrease in crime in New York City of the past decade, every reasonable effort should be made to prevent crime from taking place. Surveillance cameras are a proven method of fighting and deterring crime, and are in widespread use throughout New York city, from ATM locations to certain housing developments operated by the New York City Housing Authority.
Large parking lots adjacent to large stores and shopping centers are especially vulnerable to crime, particularly the theft of automobiles. The Council finds that the fact that these parking lots are magnets for crime as a result of their size and proximity to major highways and thoroughfares, which makes escape easier, requires legislative intervention.
In order to deter crime, the Council finds that commercial shopping areas that maintain parking lots with 200 or more parking spaces should be required to install and maintain a surveillance camera or cameras.
§2. Chapter one of title 10 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended to add a new section 10-164, to read as follows:
§10-164. Surveillance camera or cameras required in parking lots of certain shopping malls and shopping establishments.
a. The owner or operator of a shopping mall or shopping establishment that operates and maintains, on its own or through an agent or other entity, a parking area with 200 or more parking spaces, shall install a video security camera or cameras in each such parking area. Such camera or cameras shall be placed so that the entire parking area may be viewed by a security camera; however, the number, type, placement, and location of such camera or cameras shall be within the discretion of the owner or operator. The owner or operator shall be responsible for monitoring the camera or cameras installed at each parking lot. The owner or operator is also responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the camera or cameras installed.
b. An owner or operator found to be in violation of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars. An owner or operator found to be in violation of this section shall correct the violation within seven days after such finding. Failure to correct the violation within seven days after such finding shall subject the owner or operator to a civil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars and an additional civil penalty of two hundred fifty dollars per day for each day such violation continues.
§3. This local law shall take effect 90 days after its enactment.
LS # 266
Int. 49/2006
3/10/10