Int 0101-1998

Be it enacted by the Council as follows: Section one. Legislative Findings and Intent. The Council finds that in the City of New York, bicycles are used by couriers and delivery persons in increasing numbers which has given rise to concerns about pedestrian and cyclist safety. Many people have also expressed particular concern about the lack of accountability of bicycle messengers for injuries to pedestrians and the fact that there is currently not the same level of oversight of bicycle messenger services as there is of many other occupations. Since many bicycle messengers work as independent contractors, the current framework makes it difficult to hold businesses responsible for the actions of these messengers. At the same time, it must be recognized that these messenger services often operate without adequate insurance to compensate pedestrians for injuries caused by bicycle messengers or to reimburse persons for property damage. This local law would require that bicycle messenger services be licensed and that certain minimum amounts of insurance be obtained as a prerequisite to licensure. It would also require that messengers be provided with and use helmets and that informational fliers concerning the safe operation of bicycles be distributed. In addition, liability for the failure of a bicycle operator to carry proper identification would be expanded to include any business which has engaged that bicycle operator. It is also declared and found that there exists a widespread problem with bicycle theft which has not been adequately addressed and has consequently given rise to an extensive underground stolen bicycle network. Other jurisdictions have instituted bicycle registration programs with the objective of facilitating the identification and return of stolen bicycles to their lawful owners, which have proven effective. This local law would also establish a voluntary bicycle registration program to enhance the Police Department's ability to retrieve stolen bicycles and return them to their owners. �2. Chapter 2 of title 20 is amended by adding a new subchapter 33 to read as follows: Subchapter 33 Bicycle Messenger Services ?20-539 Definitions. ?20-540 License required. ?20-541 Fee. ?20-542 Insurance and helmet required. ?20-543 Suspension and revocation of licenses. ?20-544 Enforcement and penalties. ?20-545 Bicycle registration program. ?20-546 Bicycle safety education. �20-539 Definitions. For the purposes of this subchapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: a. "Bicycle messenger service" shall mean every business which engages in the course of its operations, on behalf of others, in delivering packages, parcels, papers or articles of any type by bicycle;" and b. "Person" shall mean any individual, partnership, corporation, association, firm or other business entity. c. "Bicycle dealer" shall mean any individual, firm, partnership, association or corporation which is engaged, wholly or partially, in the business of selling bicycles or trading in bicycles for the purpose of resale. �20-540 License required. a. No person shall engage in the occupation of providing bicycle messenger services without having first obtained a license issued pursuant to this section. b. All licenses issued pursuant to this subchapter shall expire on December thirty-first, in odd-numbered years, unless sooner suspended or revoked. c. This section shall not apply to any person who provides bicycle messenger services exclusively for himself or herself. �20-541 Fee. There shall be a biennial fee of two hundred dollars for issuance of a license pursuant to this section. �20-542 Insurance and helmet required. a. Each person who applies for a bicycle messenger service license shall provide proof of insurance coverage for the bicycle messenger service and each bicycle operator engaged by such bicycle messenger service in the following minimum amounts: (1) $50,000 for property damage; (2) $50,000 for injuries to or death of any one individual in any one accident; and (3) $100,000 for injuries to or death of more than one person in any one accident. b. 1. Every licensee shall supply each bicycle operator operating in affiliation with the licensee with a bicycle helmet meeting the standards of the american national standards institute (ansi Z 90.4 bicycle helmet standards) or the snell memorial foundation's standards for protective headgear for use in bicycling. 2. It shall be a violation of this subdivision to operate a bicycle on behalf of a bicycle messenger service without wearing a helmet. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the licensee has violated this subdivision. �20-543 Suspension and revocation of licenses. The commissioner may, after providing notice and an opportunity for a hearing, revoke or suspend a license issued pursuant to this subchapter for a violation of any provision of this subchapter or any rules promulgated thereto. The licensee shall be notified by certified mail of the specific charges and the hearing. If, after the hearing, the commissioner determines that a violation has occurred, the commissioner may enter an order revoking or suspending the license. Any person whose license is revoked under this chapter shall be ineligible to receive another license under this chapter for a one-year period following revocation. �20-544 Enforcement and penalties. Authorized employees of the department, the department of transportation or the police department shall have the power to enforce any provision of this subchapter or any rule promulgated pursuant thereto. Any person who violates any provision of this subchapter or any rule promulgated pursuant thereto shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars for each such violation. �20-545 Bicycle registration program. a. The owner of any bicycle may register a bicycle in accordance with rules promulgated pursuant to this section. Such rules shall designate locations, including bicycle dealers and police precincts where bicycle registration may be conducted. Each bicycle shall be registered according to its serial number and the make and model of such bicycle. Where a bicycle has been registered at a bicycle dealer, such dealer shall forward such information to the local police precinct. b. The police commissioner shall maintain a record of all registered bicycles that shall include the bicycle's serial number, a description of the bicycle, the name, address and telephone number of the registered owner, and such other information as the commissioner shall deem necessary in order to facilitate the recovery of a stolen bicycle. c. There shall be a fee for the registration of a bicycle which shall be collected by the police department. Where a bicycle has been registered at a bicycle dealer, such dealer shall collect the fee and forward it with the registration information to the local police precinct. The proceeds of such fee shall be used to recover costs incurred by the police department in the administration of the bicycle registration program. d. Registration Confidentiality. The police commissioner shall use bicycle registration records in order to locate the registered owner of any bicycle which has been impounded or recovered and to notify the owner as to how such bicycle may be recovered. Information about a registered bicycle owner shall not be disclosed except to officials of the police department and then solely for the purpose of facilitating the recovery of stolen bicycles. �20-546 Bicycle safety education. The department of transportation shall prepare an informational flier regarding laws and rules concerning the operation of bicycles on city streets and sidewalks. The department shall distribute such fliers to merchants who sell or offer to sell bicycles to members of the public. Such merchants shall distribute a flier to any person to whom they sell a bicycle. The department shall update such flier whenever there is a change in the laws or rules concerning the operation of bicycles on city streets and sidewalks and publish it in the city record. �3. Section 10-157 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 47 of 1984, is amended to read as follows: a. Every [person, firm, partnership, joint venture association or corporation] business which engages in the course of its [business] operations, either on behalf of itself or other business, in delivering packages, parcels, papers or articles of any type by bicycle shall provide identification of the business by requiring every bicycle or bicycle operator to be identified by: (1) affixing to the rear of each bicycle, bicycle seat or both sides of the delivery basket, a metal, plastic or other sign of a type approved by the police commissioner, with the name of the business and a three digit identification number which identifies the bicycle operator in lettering and numerals so as to be plainly readable at a distance of not less than ten feet and maintaining same in good condition thereon; and (2) by requiring each bicycle operator to wear a jacket, vest, or other wearing apparel on the upper part of the cyclist's body while making deliveries, or otherwise riding a bicycle on behalf of the business, the back of which shall indicate the business name and the bicycle operator's individual identification number in lettering and numerals so as to be plainly readable at a distance of not less than ten feet. (3) For the purposes of this section "business" shall be defined as a person, firm, partnership, joint venture, association or corporation. b. Every [person, firm, partnership, joint venture association or corporation] business engaged in providing a service as authorized herein must issue to every bicycle operator a numbered identification card which contains the name, residence address and photo of the bicycle operator and the name, address and telephone number of the [company for whom] business with which the bicycle operator is [employed] affiliated. Such identification card must be carried by the bicycle operator while the cyclist is making deliveries, or otherwise riding a bicycle on behalf of the business, and must be produced upon the demand of a police officer or any other law enforcement officer. c. Every [person, firm, partnership, joint venture, association or corporation] business engaged in providing a service as authorized herein shall maintain in a log book to be kept for such purpose, the name and place of residence address of every [employee] person operating a bicycle in affiliation with such business, the date of employment and discharge of each person in said service, and every messenger or deliver person's identification number. The owner of any business engaged in providing a service as authorized herein shall maintain in a log book to be kept for such purpose, the name and place of residence address of every [employee] person operating a bicycle in affiliation with such business, the date of employment and discharge of each person in said service, and every messenger or delivery person's identification number. The owner of any business engaged in providing a service as authorized in this section shall be responsible for maintaining in the log book a daily trip record in which all entries shall be made legibly in ink and each entry shall be dated and include the bicycle identification number, the operator's name and the name and place of origin and destination for each trip. No entry shall be rewritten either in whole or in part except in such manner as may be provided by [regulation] rule of the commissioner, any such unauthorized rewriting shall give rise to a rebuttable presumption of an act of fraud, deceit or misrepresentation. Such log book shall be made available for inspection during regular and usual business hours upon request of an agent of the police commissioner or any police officer or any other person authorized by law. d. The owner of any business engaged in providing a service as authorized in this section shall file an annual report in such form as shall be designated by the police commissioner by rule [or regulations]. Said report shall include, inter alia, the number of bicycles it owns and the number and identity of any [employees it may retain] person operating a bicycle in affiliation with such business. Any business engaged in providing a service as authorized in this section shall be responsible for the compliance with the provisions of this section [of] by any [employees it shall retain] person operating a bicycle in affiliation with such business. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as applying to persons under the age of sixteen who use a bicycle to deliver daily newspapers or circulars. e. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision f of this section, the violation of any of the provisions of this section, or of any of the rules [or regulations] that may be promulgated pursuant hereto, shall be a violation triable by a judge of the criminal court of the city of New York and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two hundred fifty dollars or imprisonment for not more than fifteen days or both such fine and imprisonment. f. Any person who makes deliveries or otherwise operates a bicycle [on behalf of] in affiliation with any business without [carrying the identification required by subdivision b of this section] the appropriate identification as required by subdivisions a and b of this section or who fails to produce such identification card upon demand as required by [such] subdivision of this section and the business on whose behalf the bicycle is being operated, shall be guilty of a traffic infraction and upon conviction thereof shall be liable for a fine of not less than [twenty-five] two hundred fifty dollars nor more than [fifty] five hundred dollars. Such traffic infraction may be adjudicated by such an administrative tribunal as is authorized under article two-A of the vehicle and traffic law. In any prosecution of a business for a violation of this section, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the business knew that the bicycle operator was not carrying the identification required by subdivision b of this section or failed to produce such identification upon demand as required by such subdivision. �4. This local law shall take effect ninety days after its enactment into law. Referred to the Committee on Transportation. LS# 1510 06/09/95 Int. No. 577 JJ/ts