The Town of Colonie does not codify a general townwide juvenile curfew ordinance in its Town Code at ecode360.com/CO0290. New York State has no statewide curfew for minors. Conduct that would in other states trigger a juvenile-curfew citation - presence of an unaccompanied minor in public at late hours - is handled in Colonie through general parental-supervision review by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services framework and Family Court Act Article 7 (Persons in Need of Supervision/PINS) where chronic behavior emerges, plus enforcement of substantive offenses (loitering, trespass, alcohol possession).
Many New York municipalities (including Albany, Schenectady, and Rochester) have enacted local juvenile-curfew ordinances under their home-rule authority, typically barring unaccompanied minors under a specified age from public places between late-evening and early-morning hours and providing for parental-responsibility provisions. The Town of Colonie has not codified such an ordinance in the chapters published at ecode360.com/CO0290. Practical enforcement of nighttime juvenile conduct in Colonie therefore proceeds through substantive offense statutes rather than a curfew status offense: NY Penal Law §240.35 (loitering), §140.05 (trespass), §65.05 (unlawful possession of alcoholic beverage by a minor), and NY Vehicle and Traffic Law violations are available. Where a pattern of late-night behavior suggests inadequate parental supervision, the Colonie Police Department can refer the family to the New York State Family Court for a Persons in Need of Supervision (PINS) proceeding under Family Court Act Article 7, administered through the Albany County Probation Department. A juvenile-curfew ordinance, if Colonie were to adopt one, would have to be drafted to survive First Amendment overbreadth review under cases like Hutchins v. District of Columbia, 188 F.3d 531 (D.C. Cir. 1999) and Nunez v. City of San Diego, 114 F.3d 935 (9th Cir. 1997), with exceptions for parental accompaniment, employment, religious observance, and First Amendment activity. As written, Colonie's Town Code does not contain such an ordinance.
Because Colonie has no general juvenile-curfew ordinance, there is no curfew-status-offense citation for a minor's presence in public at late hours, standing alone. Substantive offense enforcement remains available: loitering under Penal Law §240.35 (a violation), trespass under §140.05 (a violation), unlawful possession of alcohol by a minor under §65.05 (civil penalty up to $50), and Vehicle and Traffic Law violations carry the penalties prescribed by state law. Parents may be referred to the Albany County Department for Children, Youth and Families or to Family Court for a PINS proceeding under Family Court Act Article 7 in cases involving chronic ungovernable behavior. Many Colonie public parks operate under park-rules-derived hours-of-operation restrictions; presence in a Town park after closing can be cited as a Town Code violation in Colonie Town Court.
Colonie, NY
Abandoned vehicles in the Town of Colonie are handled under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law §1224 (Abandoned Vehicles), which makes the town in which a vehi...
Colonie, NY
Pool barriers in Colonie are governed by the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC) as adopted by reference in the NY State Uniform Code at 19 NYCR...
Colonie, NY
The Town of Colonie Zoning Law does not prescribe a closed list of permitted fence materials, but barbed wire, electrified fencing, and razor wire are genera...
Colonie, NY
Boundary and 'spite fence' disputes in Colonie are governed by New York State common law and statute, not the town zoning code. Real Property Actions and Pro...
Colonie, NY
The Town of Colonie requires a fence/zoning permit from the Department of Building & Code Enforcement before installing a fence, with a plot plan showing fen...
Colonie, NY
The Town of Colonie does not impose a numeric limit on the number of dogs, cats, or other companion animals per household. Chapter 79 Article III caps chicke...
See how Colonie's juvenile curfew rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.