§ 236. Creation, personnel. 1. Creation. In any city as hereinbefore
or hereafter authorized such tribunal when created shall be known as the
parking violations bureau and shall have jurisdiction of traffic
infractions which constitute a parking violation and, where authorized:
(a) to adjudicate the liability of owners for violations of subdivision
(d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this chapter imposed pursuant to
a local law or ordinance imposing monetary liability on the owner of a
vehicle for failure of an operator thereof to comply with
traffic-control indications through the installation and operation of
traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring systems, in accordance
with article twenty-four of this chapter, or (b) to adjudicate the
liability of owners for violations of subdivision (b), (c), (d), (f) or
(g) of section eleven hundred eighty of this chapter imposed pursuant to
a demonstration program imposing monetary liability on the owner of a
vehicle for failure of an operator thereof to comply with such posted
maximum speed limits through the installation and operation of photo
speed violation monitoring systems, in accordance with article thirty of
this chapter, or (c) to adjudicate the liability of owners for
violations of bus lane restrictions as defined by article twenty-four of
this chapter imposed pursuant to a bus rapid transit program imposing
monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator
thereof to comply with such bus lane restrictions through the
installation and operation of bus lane photo devices, in accordance with
article twenty-four of this chapter, or (d) to adjudicate the liability
of owners for violations of toll collection regulations imposed by
certain public authorities pursuant to the law authorizing such public
authorities to impose monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle for
failure of an operator thereof to comply with toll collection
regulations of such public authorities through the installation and
operation of photo-monitoring systems, in accordance with the provisions
of section two thousand nine hundred eighty-five of the public
authorities law and sections sixteen-a, sixteen-b and sixteen-c of
chapter seven hundred seventy-four of the laws of nineteen hundred
fifty, or (e) to adjudicate the liability of owners for violations of
section eleven hundred seventy-four of this chapter when meeting a
school bus marked and equipped as provided in subdivisions twenty and
twenty-one-c of section three hundred seventy-five of this chapter
imposed pursuant to a local law or ordinance imposing monetary liability
on the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator thereof to comply
with school bus red visual signals through the installation and
operation of school bus photo violation monitoring systems, in
accordance with article twenty-nine of this chapter, or (f) to
adjudicate the liability of owners for violations of section three
hundred eighty-five of this chapter and the rules of the department of
transportation of the city of New York in relation to gross vehicle
weight and/or axle weight violations imposed pursuant to a weigh in
motion demonstration program imposing monetary liability on the owner of
a vehicle for failure of an operator thereof to comply with such gross
vehicle weight and/or axle weight restrictions through the installation
and operation of weigh in motion violation monitoring systems, in
accordance with article ten of this chapter, or (g) to adjudicate the
liability of owners for violations of subdivision (b), (d), (f) or (g)
of section eleven hundred eighty of this chapter imposed pursuant to a
demonstration program imposing monetary liability on the owner of a
vehicle for failure of an operator thereof to comply with such posted
maximum speed limits within a highway construction or maintenance work
area through the installation and operation of photo speed violation
monitoring systems, in accordance with article thirty of this chapter,
or (h) to adjudicate the liability of owners for violations of bus
operation-related traffic regulations as defined by article twenty-four
of this chapter imposed pursuant to a demonstration program imposing
monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator
thereof to comply with such bus operation-related traffic regulations
through the installation and operation of bus operation-related photo
devices, in accordance with article twenty-four of this chapter. Such
tribunal, except in a city with a population of one million or more,
shall also have jurisdiction of abandoned vehicle violations. For the
purposes of this article, a parking violation is the violation of any
law, rule or regulation providing for or regulating the parking,
stopping or standing of a vehicle. In addition for purposes of this
article, "commissioner" shall mean and include the commissioner of
traffic of the city or an official possessing authority as such a
commissioner.

2. Personnel. a. The head of such bureau shall be the director, who
shall be appointed by the commissioner. The director may exercise or
delegate any of the functions, powers and duties conferred upon him or
the bureau by the commissioner to any qualified officer or employee of
the bureau.

b. The commissioner may appoint such number of deputy directors as he
shall deem necessary, but in no event to exceed four and may employ such
officers and employees as may be required to perform the work of the
bureau, within the amounts available therefor by appropriation.

c. The commissioner shall appoint supervising hearing examiners not to
exceed six in number and senior hearing examiners, not to exceed six in
number. Every supervising hearing examiner shall have been admitted to
the practice of law in the state for at least seven years and every
senior hearing examiner for at least six years. The duties of each
supervising hearing examiner and senior hearing examiner shall include,
but not be limited to: (1) presiding at hearings for the adjudication of
charges of parking violations; (2) the supervision and administration of
the work of the bureau; and (3) membership on the appeals board of the
bureau, as herein provided.

d. The commissioner shall appoint hearing examiners who shall preside
at hearings for the adjudication of charges of parking violations.
Hearing examiners shall be appointed and shall serve for such number of
sessions as may be determined by the commissioner and shall receive
therefor, such remuneration as may be fixed. Such hearing examiners
shall not be considered employees of the city in which the
administrative tribunal has been established. Every hearing examiner
shall have been admitted to the practice of law in this state for a
period of at least five years, except in cities having a population of
one million or more persons where they shall have been admitted to such
practice for a period of at least three years. Hearing examiners shall
be appointed from a list of eligible candidates who have satisfied the
standards established by a duly constituted committee of the bar
association of the county in which the city is located or, the
association of the bar of that city.

2-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in cities with a
population of one million or more, for purposes of this article a
parking violation shall include a violation of section eleven hundred
seventy-five of this chapter, provided that notice to the operator of
the vehicle is provided in like manner as any other violation under this
article.

3. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of any general, special
or local law to the contrary, the city of Rochester may provide by local
law for the administrative adjudication in the parking violations bureau
of the city of Rochester of violations of article seven of the
agriculture and markets law or of any local law or ordinance adopted
pursuant thereto relating to the licensing, identification and control
of dogs. Such violations shall be heard and determined in the same
manner as charges of parking violations and a person charged with any
such violation shall have all the rights to a hearing, administrative
adjudication and judicial review which a person charged with a parking
violation has. The parking violations bureau shall have all the
functions, powers and duties with respect to such violations as are
granted with respect to parking violations. Such violations shall be
punishable by a civil penalty which shall not exceed the amounts set out
in article seven of the agriculture and markets law. All moneys
collected shall be the property of the city of Rochester.

4. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of any general, special
or local law to the contrary, the city of Buffalo may provide by local
law for the administrative adjudication in the parking violations bureau
of the city of Buffalo of violations of the city's ordinances relating
to the maintenance and utilization of streets and sidewalks in the city
of Buffalo. Such violations shall be heard and determined in the same
manner as charges of parking violations and a person charged with any
such violation shall have all the rights to a hearing, administrative
adjudication and judicial review which a person charged with a parking
violation has. The parking violations bureau shall have all the
functions, powers and duties with respect to such violations as are
granted with respect to parking violations. Such violations shall be
punishable by a civil penalty. All moneys collected shall be the
property of the city of Buffalo.

5. Release of an illegally parked vehicle. a. A parking violations
bureau of a city with a population of one million or more persons may
impose vehicle release penalties in accordance with the provisions of
paragraph b of this subdivision, provided that the commissioner of
transportation of such city has established a procedure for the towing
and impoundment of illegally parked vehicles which permits the release,
at the site of the underlying parking violation, of an illegally parked
vehicle which has been hooked to a tow truck in preparation for towing
from such site if:

(1) the owner or other person lawfully entitled to the possession of
such vehicle appears and requests the release of such vehicle before the
tow truck is in motion,

(2) such owner or other person has a current valid driver's license,

(3) such owner or other person presents either a registration card or
title for the vehicle, and

(4) such owner or other person consents, in writing, to the imposition
of a vehicle release penalty for the underlying parking violation in
accordance with paragraph b of this subdivision.

b. Where a vehicle that is illegally parked is released from a tow
truck under the circumstances described in paragraph a of this
subdivision, a vehicle release penalty, in an amount which shall not
exceed one-half of the fee charged by the department of transportation
of such city for the towing of illegally parked vehicles shall, upon a
plea of guilty, a final determination sustaining the charges or upon
default, be added to the amount of fines and penalties imposed for the
underlying parking violation. The provisions of subdivision two of
section two hundred thirty-seven of this article that limit the amount
of monetary penalties which may be imposed for a parking violation shall
not apply to such vehicle release penalty. In no event shall a vehicle
release penalty be imposed pursuant to this subdivision if the
underlying parking violation is dismissed. The parking violations bureau
of such city may prescribe penalties for non-payment of such vehicle
release penalty which shall be consistent with section two hundred
thirty-five of this article.