S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                 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:

  Section  1. Subdivisions f, g, h and i of section 19-124 of the admin-
istrative code of the city of New York are relettered subdivisions g, h,
i and j and a new subdivision f is added to read as follows:
  F.  INFORMATION  REQUIRED.  1.     NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY   INCONSISTENT
PROVISION  OF  THIS  SECTION,  A COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT THAT ERECTS OR
MAINTAINS A CANOPY SHALL  BE  REQUIRED  TO  PAINT,  IMPRINT  OR  STENCIL
DIRECTLY  UPON  THE  CANOPY,  WITHIN  THE  CHARACTER AND AREA LIMITATION
PRESCRIBED BY THE ZONING RESOLUTION OF THE CITY, THE FIRM NAME  OR  DULY
FILED TRADE NAME, AND THE ADDRESS OF THE PREMISES. WHEN SUCH INFORMATION
IS  PROVIDED  IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IT MUST ALSO BE PROVIDED IN ENGLISH.
THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL APPLY TO ALL COMMERCIAL  ESTAB-
LISHMENTS  REGARDLESS  OF  WHETHER  THE ESTABLISHMENT OWNS OR LEASES THE
PREMISES WHERE IT IS LOCATED.
  2. NO LEASE OF A PREMISES TO A COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT SUBJECT TO THE
PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL PROHIBIT THE DISPLAY OF ANY  INFOR-
MATION REQUIRED BY THIS SUBDIVISION.
  S  2.  Section  131 of the general business law, as amended by chapter
496 of the laws of 1973, is amended to read as follows:
  S 131. [Ownership of] INFORMATION REGARDING merchandise establishments
and services to be publicly revealed and displayed.   1.  Every  person,
partnership,  association  or corporation owning or conducting any shop,
store or other establishment or service wherein the sale of  merchandise
at  retail  or  wholesale  is  carried  on or transacted or a service is
performed as a business shall cause the true, full name,  including  the
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

etor  or  owner  or  proprietors  or owners of such shop, store or other
establishment or service to be publicly  revealed  and  prominently  and
legibly  displayed  in the English language either upon a window of such
shop, store or other establishment or place where a service is performed
or  upon  a  sign conspicuously placed upon the exterior of the building
containing the same. [The foregoing provisions  shall  not  apply  to  a
person, partnership, association or corporation operating under a lease,
a department in a shop, store or other establishment or service as afor-
esaid  where  the  lessor  of such shop, store or other establishment or
service is liable to customers for merchandise sold  by  and  the  oper-
ations of such leased department.] Failure to comply with the provisions
of  this  section shall constitute a [misdemeanor] VIOLATION, PUNISHABLE
BY A FINE OF TWO HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS FOR A FIRST OFFENSE; AND  A  FINE
OF  FIVE  HUNDRED  DOLLARS FOR A SECOND OFFENSE, PROVIDED THAT A PERSON,
PARTNERSHIP, ASSOCIATION OR CORPORATION MAY NOT BE CHARGED WITH A SECOND
OFFENSE WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OF  THE  DATE  OF  CONVICTION  FOR  THE  FIRST
OFFENSE;  AND A FINE OF FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A THIRD AND SUBSEQUENT
OFFENSE, PROVIDED THAT A PERSON, PARTNERSHIP, ASSOCIATION OR CORPORATION
MAY NOT BE CHARGED WITH A THIRD OFFENSE WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF  THE  DATE
OF CONVICTION FOR THE SECOND OFFENSE.
  2.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  INCONSISTENT PROVISION OF THIS SECTION, IN A
CITY WITH A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE, IN ALL DISTRICTS OF  SUCH
CITY,  ANY  PERMITTED SIGN CONTAINING INFORMATION IMPRINTED OR DISPLAYED
IN A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH SHALL ALSO CONTAIN THE SAME INFORMATION
IN ENGLISH.
  S 3.  The New York City department of consumer affairs  shall  promul-
gate  any  rules  and  regulations  necessary  to  give  effect  to  the
provisions of this act, including but not limited to rules pertaining to
the size and proportion of all English language signs  required  by  the
provisions of this act.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.