Section 23-408. Violations; Penalties and Other Enforcement

a.  Any  owner  who  installs,  operates  or  maintains  a  public pay
  telephone on, over or under any street or other inalienable property  of
  the  city without a permit therefor shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and
  upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten
  thousand dollars and imprisonment of not more than thirty days, or  both
  such fine and imprisonment. Such owner shall, in addition, be liable for
  civil penalties pursuant to subdivisions c and d of this section.
    b.  An  owner  who  repeatedly  fails to provide phone services from a
  public pay telephone for any sustained period of time or  who  fails  to
  provide  coinless  twenty-four  hour  911  service  from such public pay
  telephone shall be in violation of this chapter and shall be liable  for
  a  civil  penalty of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars for
  each violation which may  be  recovered  in  a  civil  action  or  in  a
  proceeding  before  the  environmental  control  board. In the case of a
  continuing violation, each day's continuance shall  be  a  separate  and
  distinct offense.
    c. An owner who violates any provision of this chapter, or any term or
  condition  of  a permit issued pursuant thereto, or any rule promulgated
  by the commissioner pursuant thereto shall be liable for a civil penalty
  of not more than one thousand dollars for each violation  which  may  be
  recovered  in a civil action or in a proceeding before the environmental
  control board. In  the  case  of  a  continuing  violation,  each  day's
  continuance shall be a separate and distinct offense.
    d. An owner who is liable for a civil penalty for a violation pursuant
  to  subdivision c of this section shall also be liable in a civil action
  for an additional civil penalty in the amount of the  expense,  if  any,
  incurred  by the city in the removal of the public pay telephone and the
  performance of related repair and restoration work.
    e. In addition to authorized officers and employees of the department,
  officers and employees of  the  department  of  transportation  who  are
  designated  by  the commissioner shall have the power to issue summonses
  and appearance tickets returnable in the criminal court and  notices  of
  violation   returnable   before  the  environmental  control  board  for
  violations of the provisions of this chapter.
    f. An owner of a public pay telephone shall be liable for a  violation
  by  his  or  her  employee,  agent  or  independent  contractor  of  the
  provisions of this chapter, or any term or condition of a permit  issued
  pursuant  thereto,  or any rule promulgated by the commissioner pursuant
  thereto, made in the course of performing his or her duties.
    g. An owner who submits an application  for  a  public  pay  telephone
  permit  containing  a certification made by a commercial lessee pursuant
  to subparagraph (iii) of paragraph 2 of subdivision a of section  23-403
  of  this  chapter,  knowing  that  such  certification  contains a false
  statement or false information, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
    h. The commissioner may request the corporation counsel  to  institute
  any  action  or  proceeding  that  may  be  appropriate  or necessary to
  restrain, correct or  abate  a  violation  of  the  provisions  of  this
  chapter.
    i.  1.  If  the  commissioner  has reasonable cause to believe that an
  owner, or any employee, agent or independent contractor of  such  owner,
  has violated the provisions of this chapter, or any term or condition of
  a  permit  issued  pursuant  thereto,  or  any  rule  promulgated by the
  commissioner pursuant thereto, the commissioner may (i) notify the owner
  of the condition identified by  the  commissioner  as  a  violation  and
  specify  the  action that must be taken to correct the condition in such
  manner and within such period of time as shall  be  set  forth  in  such
  notice,  and  (ii)  shall afford the owner an opportunity to contest the

  commissioner's notice in a manner to  be  set  forth  in  rules  of  the
  commissioner.  Upon  final determination by the commissioner and failure
  of such owner to correct the condition in  the  manner  and  within  the
  period  of time specified by the commissioner, the commissioner shall be
  authorized, at his or her discretion:
    aa. to remove or cause the removal of any public pay  telephone  which
  is  installed,  operated  or  maintained on, over or under any street or
  other unalienable property  of  the  city  without  a  permit  therefor.
  Notwithstanding the foregoing, notice shall be provided pursuant to this
  subdivision  prior  to  removal  only  where the name and address of the
  owner is shown on the public pay telephone or can be readily  identified
  by  the  commissioner  by virtue of a trademark prominently displayed on
  the public pay telephone;
    bb. to revoke a permit and, upon  revocation,  to  further  order  the
  removal of the public pay telephone. In the event the permittee fails to
  remove  the  public  pay  telephone  and  to  perform related repair and
  restoration work within the time period specified  by  such  order,  the
  commissioner may remove or cause the removal of the public pay telephone
  and  have  repair  and  restoration work performed at the expense of the
  permittee, who shall be liable for the amount expended by the city;
    cc. to render a public pay telephone inoperable except for the purpose
  of emergency telephone service through the 911 system  or  an  operator.
  Such  action  may continue until the violation has been corrected to the
  satisfaction of the commissioner and payment has been made of all  civil
  penalties  imposed for the violation and any fees for any administrative
  expense or expense of additional inspections incurred by the city  as  a
  result of such violation. The commissioner shall affix to any public pay
  phone  rendered  inoperable pursuant to this paragraph a notice advising
  the public that the phone may  be  used  only  for  emergency  telephone
  service  through  the  911  system  or an operator and setting forth the
  provisions of subdivision h of this section. Any device utilized by  the
  commissioner  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  a  public  pay telephone
  inoperable shall be designed so as to permit the unimpaired use  of  the
  public pay telephone upon the removal of the device;
    dd.  to suspend review of all applications for the issuance or renewal
  of permits filed by such owner pursuant to this chapter. Such suspension
  may continue until the violation has been corrected to the  satisfaction
  of  the  commissioner  and  payment  has been made of all fines or civil
  penalties imposed for the violation, any costs incurred by the city  for
  removal  and  related  repair  or restoration work, and any fees for any
  administrative expense or expense of additional inspections incurred  by
  the city as a result of such violation.
    2.   Notwithstanding   the   provisions   of  paragraph  one  of  this
  subdivision, if the commissioner determines that an imminent  threat  to
  life  or  property  exists,  the  commissioner  may  remove or cause the
  removal of a public pay telephone, and have repair and restoration  work
  performed  at  the  expense of the owner, without affording the owner an
  opportunity to be heard prior  to  such  removal.  An  owner  who  is  a
  permittee or whose name and address is shown on the public pay telephone
  shall  be provided notice and an opportunity to be heard five days after
  such removal in accordance with rules of the commissioner.
    3. The procedures set forth in this subdivision shall be  employed  by
  the  commissioner  in  addition  to or in lieu of the other remedies set
  forth in this section and shall not be construed to limit the  power  of
  the  commissioner  to  commence  a civil action or proceeding before the
  environmental control board, or to require that the commissioner  resort
  to  any procedure set forth in this subdivision as a prerequisite to the
  commencement of any such action or proceeding.

    j. It shall be a misdemeanor for any person: (i) to remove any  device
  installed  by  the commissioner pursuant to subparagraph aa of paragraph
  one of subdivision g of this section or to  otherwise  make  operable  a
  public  pay  telephone  upon  which such a device has been installed; or
  (ii)  to  remove  or deface any notice affixed to a public pay telephone
  pursuant to such paragraph of such subdivision. Such  misdemeanor  shall
  be  punishable  upon  conviction by a fine of not more than ten thousand
  dollars or imprisonment for not more than thirty days or both such  fine
  and imprisonment.
    k.  Any public pay telephone removed pursuant to this section which is
  not claimed by the owner within thirty days of removal shall  be  deemed
  to  be  abandoned.  All  abandoned  public pay telephones may be sold at
  public auction after having been advertised in the City Record  and  the
  proceeds  paid into the general fund or such abandoned telephones may be
  used or converted for use by the department or by another city agency. A
  public pay telephone shall be released to the owner upon payment of  the
  costs  of removal, repair and restoration work, and of storage, any fees
  for any administrative expense  or  expense  of  additional  inspections
  incurred  by  the  department  as  a  result of the violation, or, if an
  action or proceeding for the violation is pending in a court  or  before
  the  environmental  control  board,  upon the posting of a bond or other
  form of security acceptable to the commissioner in an amount which  will
  secure  the payment of such costs and any fines or civil penalties which
  may be imposed for the violation.