Section 19-169. Removal of vehicles parked in front of a private driveway

a.
  Subject  to  the provisions of this section an owner of a lot containing
  no more than two dwelling units, or his or her  lessee,  may  cause  any
  vehicle  which  is  parked  in  front of his or her private driveway and
  which blocks the entry or egress of a vehicle from such property  to  be
  removed  by a person licensed to engage in towing pursuant to subchapter
  thirty-one of chapter two of title twenty of the code,  where  a  person
  authorized  to  issue  a  notice  of parking violation has issued such a
  notice and affixed it to such unlawfully parked vehicle; the issuance of
  such a notice shall  constitute  authorization  to  the  owner  of  such
  property,  or  his  or  her  lessee,  to  arrange  for  removal  of such
  unlawfully parked vehicle, and such removal shall be deemed to be at the
  request of the person who issued the notice.
    b. Where the owner of such property, or his or her lessee, requests  a
  police  officer  to  arrange  for  removal of any such unlawfully parked
  vehicle, such vehicle shall be removed at the direction  of  the  police
  department  by  the  next  available towing company participating in the
  rotation tow program established pursuant to section 20-519 of the code.
  Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude an owner of  such
  property,  or  his  or her lessee, acting pursuant to this section, from
  arranging for the removal of such unlawfully parked  vehicle  by  a  tow
  operator  of  such person's choice. The commissioner of consumer affairs
  shall promulgate a regulation  establishing  performance  standards  for
  licensees  in order to insure that vehicles summonsed under this section
  are towed as expeditiously as possible.
    c. 1. No vehicle may be removed pursuant to this section  without  the
  express  written  authorization issued to a person licensed to engage in
  towing pursuant to subchapter thirty-one of chapter two of title  twenty
  of  the  code  by the owner of such property, or his or her lessee. Such
  authorization shall include the location of the vehicle to  be  removed,
  the  make,  model,  color and license plate number of such vehicle and a
  statement that such vehicle was removed pursuant to a notice of  parking
  violation  and  shall be signed by the owner of such property, or his or
  her lessee, prior to removal.
    2. A vehicle may not be removed if it is occupied by any person.
    3. Notwithstanding any other provision of  law,  a  vehicle  which  is
  removed  shall be taken directly to a facility for storage maintained by
  the  person  licensed  to  engage  in  towing  pursuant  to   subchapter
  thirty-one  of  chapter  two of title twenty of the code who has removed
  such vehicle and which is within ten miles from the point of removal. If
  no such facility  is  available,  the  closest  available  facility  for
  storage  maintained  by  a  person  so  licensed shall be utilized. Such
  facility for storage must be a secure place for safekeeping vehicles.
    4. Any person who removes a vehicle pursuant  to  this  section  shall
  within thirty minutes of the vehicle's arrival at a facility for storage
  notify  the  local  police precinct having jurisdiction over the area of
  such removal of the storage site, the time the vehicle was removed,  the
  location  the  vehicle  was  removed  from,  the  make, model, color and
  license plate number of the vehicle, the name of the person  who  signed
  an  authorization  for  the  removal  and the fact that such vehicle was
  removed pursuant to a notice of parking violation and shall  obtain  the
  name  of the person at such police precinct to whom such information was
  reported and note such name on a trip record together with the date  and
  time that the vehicle was removed.
    5.  If  the registered owner or other person in control of the vehicle
  arrives at the scene prior to removal of the vehicle and such vehicle is
  connected  to  any  apparatus  for  removal,  the   vehicle   shall   be
  disconnected  from  such  apparatus  and such person shall be allowed to

  remove the vehicle without interference upon  payment  of  a  reasonable
  service  fee of not more than one-half of the charge allowed for removal
  as provided in paragraph eight of this subdivision, for which a  receipt
  shall be given.
    6.  The registered owner or other person in control of a vehicle which
  has been removed pursuant to  this  section  shall  have  the  right  to
  inspect the vehicle before accepting its return. No release or waiver of
  any  kind which would release the person or company removing the vehicle
  from liability for damages may be required from any such owner or  other
  person  as  a  condition  of  release  of  the vehicle to such person. A
  detailed, signed receipt showing the legal name of the person or company
  removing the vehicle must be given to the person paying the removal  and
  storage charges at the time of payment.
    7.  Any  person  who  removes a vehicle pursuant to this section shall
  comply with the notice provisions of  subdivision  two  of  section  one
  hundred eighty-four of the lien law.
    8.  Notwithstanding  the  charges  permitted  to  be  collected  under
  subdivision c of section 20-519 of this code, a  person  who  removes  a
  vehicle  pursuant  to  section  19-169  of  this  code  may  collect the
  following charges from the owner or other  person  in  control  of  such
  vehicle, payable before the vehicle is released: one hundred dollars for
  removal  and  the  first  three days of storage; ten dollars per day for
  storage thereafter, except that no charge may be collected  for  removal
  or  storage of a vehicle pursuant to this section by a person who is not
  licensed to engage  in  towing  pursuant  to  subchapter  thirty-one  of
  chapter two of title twenty of the code.
    9.  This  section  does  not  apply  to law enforcement, firefighting,
  rescue squad, ambulance, or other emergency vehicles which are marked as
  such.
    10. When an owner of property, or his or her lessee, improperly causes
  a vehicle to be removed, such person shall be liable  to  the  owner  or
  other  person  in  control  of  the  vehicle  for  the  cost of removal,
  transportation and  storage  and  for  any  damage  resulting  from  the
  removal, transportation and storage of the vehicle.
    d. No person licensed pursuant to subchapter thirty-one of chapter two
  of title twenty of the code shall refuse, without justifiable grounds, a
  request  by  any  person  acting  pursuant  to  this section to remove a
  vehicle unlawfully blocking a private driveway. Any person who  violates
  this  subdivision shall be punished as follows: for the first violation,
  a fine of one hundred dollars; for the second violation within a  period
  of twelve months of the date of a first violation, a fine of two hundred
  dollars;   and   for  any  additional  violations  within  a  period  of
  twenty-four months of the date of a first  violation,  a  fine  of  five
  hundred dollars.