Section 24-163. Operation of motor vehicle; idling of engine restricted

(a)
  No person shall cause or permit the engine of  a  motor  vehicle,  other
  than  a  legally  authorized emergency motor vehicle, to idle for longer
  than three minutes, except  as  provided  in  subdivision  (f)  of  this
  section,  while parking as defined in section one hundred twenty-nine of
  the vehicle and traffic law, standing as defined in section one  hundred
  forty-five  of  the  vehicle  and traffic law, or stopping as defined in
  section one hundred forty-seven of the vehicle and traffic  law,  unless
  the engine is used to operate a loading, unloading or processing device.
  When  the  ambient temperature is in excess of forty degrees Fahrenheit,
  no person shall cause or permit the  engine  of  a  bus  as  defined  in
  section  one  hundred  four of the vehicle and traffic law to idle while
  parking, standing, or stopping (as defined above) at any terminal point,
  whether or not enclosed, along an established route.
    (b) The department of transportation  shall  post  signs  relating  to
  prohibited  idling that shall comply with the standards set forth in the
  Manual on  Uniform  Traffic  Control  Devices  and,  where  practicable,
  include  the  maximum  penalty  that  may  be imposed for a violation of
  subdivision a of this section as follows:
    (1) a sign shall be posted at each exit within the city of New York of
  each bridge and tunnel having only one terminus in the city of New York;
    (2) signs shall be posted at a  minimum  of  five  locations  in  each
  borough where two or more truck routes, whether local or through routes,
  intersect;
    (3) a sign shall be posted at each bus layover area (other than school
  bus  layover  areas),  designated  by the commissioner of transportation
  pursuant to section 4-10(c)(3) of title 34 of the rules of the  city  of
  New York;
    (4) a sign shall be posted at each multiple use bus terminal point;
    (5)  a  sign  shall  be  posted  in close proximity to each school bus
  depot; and,
    (6) signs shall be posted at other  appropriate  locations  throughout
  the  city as jointly determined by the commissioner and the commissioner
  of transportation, including but not limited to, locations for which the
  city receives  a  substantial  number  of  complaints  of  idling  motor
  vehicles.
    (c)  For  the purpose of this section only the term "school bus depot"
  shall mean any garage, lot or other facility where buses that  transport
  children to or from schools are parked over night and the term "multiple
  use  bus  terminal  point" shall mean a location that is both a terminal
  point of at least one bus route (other than a school bus  route)  and  a
  bus stop (other than a school bus stop) on one or more other bus routes.
    (d)  In  any proceeding relating to a violation of the restrictions on
  idling it shall not be a defense that a sign required  by  this  section
  was absent at the time of the violation.
    (e)  In  addition  to  the  department  and the police department, the
  department of parks and recreation  and  the  department  of  sanitation
  shall  have  the  authority to enforce subdivision a of this section and
  shall have the power to  issues  summonses,  appearance  tickets  and/or
  notices of violation for violations of such subdivision.
    (f)  No  person  shall  cause or permit the engine of a motor vehicle,
  other than a legally authorized emergency motor  vehicle,  to  idle  for
  longer  than one minute if such motor vehicle is adjacent, as determined
  by rule, to any public school under the jurisdiction  of  the  New  York
  city  department  of education or to any non-public school that provides
  educational instruction to students in any grade  from  pre-kindergarten
  to  the  twelfth  grade  level,  while parking as defined in section one
  hundred twenty-nine of the vehicle and traffic law, standing as  defined

  in  section  one  hundred  forty-five of the vehicle and traffic law, or
  stopping as defined in section one hundred forty-seven  of  the  vehicle
  and  traffic  law,  unless  the  engine  is  used  to operate a loading,
  unloading or processing device, and provided that idling of an engine of
  a  school  bus  may  be  permitted  to  the  extent  necessary:  (1) for
  mechanical  work;  (2)  to  maintain  an  appropriate  temperature   for
  passenger  comfort;  or  (3) in emergency evacuations where necessary to
  operate wheelchair lifts. It shall be an affirmative  defense  that  any
  such  school  was  not  easily  identifiable  as  a school by signage or
  otherwise at the time a violation of this subdivision occurred.
    (g) A report shall be submitted to the city council on an annual basis
  by: (1) the environmental  control  board  that  states  the  number  of
  notices  of  violation issued for engine idling violations returnable to
  the environmental control board, including the total amount of penalties
  imposed for such notices  of  violations;  and  (2)  the  department  of
  finance  that  states  the  number of summonses issued for engine idling
  violations pursuant to subdivision (p) of section 4-08 of  title  34  of
  the  rules  of  the  city  of  New  York,  including the total amount of
  penalties imposed for such summonses.