Hempstead, NY

The Town of Hempstead bans lawns, weeds, grass or brush over eight inches tall on any improved or vacant lot. The Sanitation Department enforces it, and unresolved violations lead to a…

Hempstead Code § 70-53 requires every water customer and private well owner to sprinkle lawns and water gardens only on odd or even days matching their house number, and bans all…

Owners, tenants, and other occupants in the Town of Hempstead's unincorporated area must keep trees near their property trimmed so overhanging limbs do not interfere with people on the…

Outside its incorporated villages, the Town of Hempstead bars anyone from destroying, removing, or substantially altering a tree in the curbside area without a permit from the…

Outside its villages, the Town of Hempstead caps residential propane storage at 500 gallons water capacity before Town Board approval kicks in. Go over that and you need a public…

Town of Hempstead Code § 78-10 confines fires in Town parks to Department-provided fireplaces or portable grills owners bring for designated areas, requires an adult to supervise any…

Burning trash, lumber, branches, straw, paper or any other combustible material outdoors is illegal in the Town of Hempstead unless it happens inside a metal incinerator or container…

New York Penal Law bans most consumer fireworks statewide. Ground-based sparkling devices are legal by default outside New York City, though counties may opt out and about a dozen have…

New York's Environmental Conservation Law Section 9-1105 makes it unlawful to set any open fire burning brush, leaves, grass, or debris in a designated fire town without a written…

The Town of Hempstead does not issue permits for short-term rentals: Town Code § 99-13(D) bars any rental occupancy permit for a "transient rental property" and makes it unlawful to…

New York imposes state and local sales tax plus hotel-style occupancy taxes on short-term rentals statewide, and a 2024 registration law adds county-level registries and mandatory…

The Town of Hempstead confines building erection, excavation, demolition, alteration and repair work to 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays under Code § 144-3(G). Work at any other…

Hempstead's noise code makes it an offense to own, possess or harbor any animal or bird that howls, barks, meows, squawks or otherwise creates a noise disturbance across a residential…

Hempstead's noise code bars operating a radio, television, sound amplifier or similar device that creates a 'noise disturbance' across a property line, and separately bans any…

Hempstead restricts leaf blowers along with saws, sanders, drills, grinders and snowblowers to set hours under § 144-3(M): 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and 7:00…

Between 11:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., Hempstead bars using any radio apparatus, loudspeaker, public address system or similar device in a way that projects sound across a property line…

Town Code § 144-5 sets hard decibel ceilings, by octave band, for transient and steady noise, and applies a shorter tolerance window at night: daytime transient noise is only regulated…

Article II of the Town's noise chapter, originally enacted in 1968 and titled 'Transient Sound From Aircraft in Flight and Other Devices,' bars operating any mechanism or device…

Hempstead bars operating any automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle in a way that creates a noise disturbance across a residential property line, and separately requires every…

The Town of Hempstead bars parking or leaving standing any bus, commercial vehicle, house coach, livery vehicle, semitrailer, taxicab, tractor, trailer or truck on any street, roadway…

Town of Hempstead Code § 80-9 limits parking in public parking fields outside marked loading areas to pleasure vehicles and small pickup or panel trucks under three-fourths ton owned…

Buses, trucks, trailers, taxis, house coaches and other commercial vehicles cannot be parked on any Hempstead street between midnight and 6 a.m. Chapter 202's night parking rule…

Once the Town Supervisor declares a snow emergency, leaving a vehicle parked on any Town street is against the law until the emergency is lifted. Chapter 174 exists specifically so…

Hempstead created resident-only permit parking zones on designated streets in East Meadow near Nassau University Medical Center (Art. V) and in Oceanside near Mount Sinai South Nassau…

A vehicle left on a Hempstead street without plates for more than six hours, or parked illegally for more than 48 hours, counts as abandoned and can be towed as a public nuisance. On…

Nassau County bans parking or leaving vehicles on designated snow routes once the County Executive declares a snow emergency; violators face a traffic-infraction fine and can be towed…

New York has adopted statewide building code and Public Service Commission rules governing EV charging installation, accessibility, and utility interconnection that apply uniformly to…

New Yorkers outside New York City who get towed or booted from a private lot rely on General Business Law 399-v, not a statewide rate cap. The law applies only to lots with capacity…

Town Code § 152-8 bars letting a dog run at large off its owner's premises, treats any dog on a leash of six feet or more as "at large," and separately caps outdoor tethering at two…

The Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter will not release a dog or cat to a person claiming ownership of it unless the animal has been sterilized by a licensed veterinarian, under Town…

Along the Town's ocean-facing nearshore areas, beaches and dunes, active bird nesting and breeding sites are off-limits to disturbance. Chapter 170's Coastal Erosion Hazard Area Law…

Nassau County prohibits feeding swans, geese, ducks and other migratory waterfowl anywhere on county-owned or county-managed property, including parks, preserves, beaches and Nassau…

Nassau County law regulates pet dealers and pet stores selling dogs and cats: barring animals from breeders with recent USDA welfare violations, setting minimum enclosure sizes, and…

Nassau County requires pet grooming businesses and individual pet groomers to be licensed by the Office of Consumer Affairs, with mandatory training, health/safety standards and fines…

Nassau County requires any dog judicially declared "dangerous" under state law to be registered with the SPCA on a public online registry, and its owner must mail notice to every…

Agriculture and Markets Law Article 15 establishes a uniform statewide apiary inspection program with mandatory disease control standards applicable to all hives in New York.

Under New York Agriculture and Markets Law §373, any police officer or humane society agent may seize a lost, strayed, homeless, or abandoned animal, cattle, goats, sheep, or chickens…

Environmental Conservation Law section 11-0512 universally prohibits possessing wild animals such as big cats, bears, wolves, and venomous reptiles as pets across New York.

Hempstead's Board of Architectural Review only approves a 'mother-daughter residence' second kitchen when it serves the children or parents of the home's fee resident owner, per Town…

Adding a second kitchen to a one-family home in the Town of Hempstead requires approval from the Board of Architectural Review before the Board of Zoning Appeals will act, under Town…

Skip the locking pool cover in the Town of Hempstead by installing at least five feet of Building Department-approved fencing around the pool, with a gate that self-closes and…

A backyard pool in the Town of Hempstead only counts as a regulated "portable swimming pool" once it exceeds 18 inches deep and 99 square feet of surface area. Past that size, it must…

New York's Town Law § 300 makes adjoining landowners split the cost of a division fence along their shared boundary, but only when the land is actually used to keep animals…

New York lets you sell home-baked and other shelf-stable foods without a food processing license through the Department of Agriculture and Markets Home Processing exemption, which…

New York Social Services Law preempts municipalities from imposing additional licensing on family or group family day care homes and requires the Office of Children and Family Services…

A written permit from the Town Clerk is required before any parade on Hempstead streets, sidewalks or parks, per Town Code § 117-2. Applications must be filed 15 to 30 days ahead, and…

Hempstead requires anyone running an open-air or farmers' market, festival stalls, or a group of independent vendors selling together, to get a Building Inspector's license, post…

Town of Hempstead Code § 78-23 requires anyone organizing a picnic, outing, parade, demonstration or special event, or wanting to erect a structure, stand or platform, hold a meeting…

Town of Hempstead Chapter 89 requires every building owner with a passenger or freight elevator to register it and file an inspection report with the Building Department each January…

In unincorporated Hempstead, no one is permitted to erect, alter, enlarge, demolish, remove or convert a building or structure, or install an elevator or heat-producing appliance…

No plumbing, drainage or sewage disposal work may begin in unincorporated Hempstead without a permit from the Department of Buildings under § 86-10A. The rule covers new installations…

Hempstead does not require a blanket sprinkler system in every dwelling. Instead, § 88-12I lets a pre-1952 multiple residence install an automatic sprinkler system on each story as an…

Every rental dwelling in the Town of Hempstead with a fuel-burning appliance must have a working carbon monoxide alarm installed next to each bedroom, per Town Code § 99-17, and owners…

Before issuing a certificate of occupancy, certificate of completion, or certificate of approval of plumbing or drainage work, the Building Inspector must examine or have examined…

The Town of Hempstead requires a master electrician's license before anyone may install or wire electrical apparatus commercially, under Code § 84-5. All work must follow the current…

In Town of Hempstead nursing, rest, convalescent and old-age homes, every required exit door must carry panic hardware or nonlockable hardware so it can always be opened from the…

Nassau County's Green Building Standards Law requires county capital projects over 5,000 square feet and $1 million in construction cost to meet LEED Silver green building standards…

Town of Hempstead Code § 78-12 lists roller skating and skate-boarding among activities barred in any Town park except in areas the Director has specifically designated and posted for…

Town of Hempstead Code § 78-3.5 makes it a violation to smoke, consume, display or carry marijuana or marijuana products in plain sight in any Town park, park district park, marina or…

Hempstead Code § 77-2 bans consuming alcohol or carrying an open or unsealed container of an alcoholic beverage in any public place within the unincorporated Town, including streets…

Town of Hempstead Code § 78-3.2 bans smoking and vaping, including e-cigarettes, cigars and pipes, at every Town park, both indoors and outdoors, unless a person is inside a…

Town of Hempstead Code § 80-8B(9) bars loitering in any Town or district public parking field for the purpose of defacing property, littering or committing disorderly conduct. The rule…

Hempstead Code § 77-9 makes urinating or defecating in any public place, other than an available public restroom, a form of disorderly conduct townwide. The law applies outside the…

Nassau County's Social Host Law makes it a crime for anyone over 18 who controls a residence to knowingly allow minors to drink alcohol or use drugs there, with fines up to $1,000 and…

Town of Hempstead Code § 88-17 puts extermination duty on the occupant when only one unit in a dwelling is infested, but shifts it to the owner whenever infestation is caused by the…

Town Code § 113-3 makes it unlawful to act as a secondhand dealer in Hempstead without one of three licenses: general, management or exposition. A general license costs $110 a year…

Hempstead bans retail sale of e-cigarettes and other electronic aerosol delivery systems by any business located within 1,000 linear feet of a school, public park, or playground, and…

Operating a tow truck business in the Town of Hempstead requires a separate Town Clerk license for both the tow car owner and each driver, licensed terminals, filed rate schedules…

Every tattoo, microblading, permanent-makeup, or body-piercing artist in Nassau County must hold a Department of Health Artist Certification, and every studio must hold a Studio…

Hempstead Code § 77-8 bars flying a drone or model aircraft on, near or above any Town-owned property, including parks, beaches and cemeteries, without prior Town approval. Violators…

Hempstead bans door-to-door solicitors from entering private property posted with a "no peddlers," "no solicitors," or "do not knock" sign, and limits all house-to-house selling and…

The Town of Hempstead requires anyone who peddles or solicits door to door, including canvassers and vehicle vendors, to hold a license from the Town Clerk. The annual fee is $50 per…

Hempstead residents must set refuse containers at the curb, never before 7:00 p.m. the night before collection, and pull empty cans back within three hours; underground and indoor…

Hempstead requires tree branches, large bushes and logs to be bundled to specific size and weight limits before D.P.W. will collect them on a regular route; oversized loads instead…

Hempstead makes it an unclassified misdemeanor to throw, bury or leave garbage, dead animals, tires, abandoned vehicles or any other refuse on a vacant lot, street or road in the Town…

Beyond household sorting duties, Hempstead's recycling law bans collecting or processing recyclables without a Town permit and bans mixing recyclables back into regular trash, backed…

Hempstead limits residential trash to two 30-gallon containers per collection day in a can no larger than 45 gallons and 75 pounds, and flatly bans using barrels, drums, kegs…

The Department of Public Works collects residential trash only between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with rubbish and leaves picked up only on the second and third…

Hempstead requires yard waste, grass clippings, leaves, brush and small logs, to be separated from regular trash and set out on a dedicated yard-waste collection day. Residents may…

Anyone placing a roll-off container or dumpster on a Hempstead street needs an annual permit from the Sanitation Commissioner under Town Code § 176-2. Containers must sit on a street…

Hempstead requires every household and every commercial, industrial or institutional establishment to source-separate newspapers, glass, metal cans, certain plastics, yard waste, metal…

The Town of Hempstead Department of Public Works suspends rubbish pickup for any full week containing a Monday-through-Friday legal holiday, because garbage volume doubles that week…

The Town of Hempstead bans dumping anything but stormwater into its municipal storm sewer system (MS4) under Chapter 161, adopted in 2010 to meet the state's SPDES General Permit for…

Before building a dock, pier, mooring pile, spile or bulkhead over, on, into or adjacent to a Town waterway, Hempstead property owners need a permit from the Director of the Department…

Hempstead's illicit-discharge law makes construction-site erosion and sediment control a matter of state permit compliance: anyone disturbing an acre or more of land under Section…

New York Executive Law Article 42 and the Coastal Management Program require state and local agency actions in designated coastal areas to be consistent with statewide coastal policies…

New York Environmental Conservation Law and the Uniform Code require all municipalities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program to adopt and enforce minimum floodplain…

Under Hempstead Code § 70-10, water customers connected to the Town of Hempstead Department of Water must notify the Department promptly of any leaking water meter or malfunctioning…

A residential solar photovoltaic system or power wall in Hempstead needs a building permit, and the application must include the standardized fast-track permit form under § 86-12G(2)…

Hempstead participates in the Long Island Power Authority's standardized 'solar energy system fast track permit application' as a partner community in the New York Solar Smart Program…

New York's Solar Rights Act, Real Property Law Article 9-C, section 342, voids any homeowners' association rule that effectively bans rooftop solar. A restriction counts as an illegal…

Owners, occupants and lessees in unincorporated Hempstead cannot place goods, merchandise, boxes, display signs or anything else on the sidewalk in front of their property, though a…

Building a driveway or curb cut into the Town highway right-of-way requires a permit from the Highway Commissioner under Chapter 182, with fees running $55 to $350 and construction…

In the unincorporated Town of Hempstead, the Town Board can order abutting property owners to build or repair sidewalks and curbs at their own expense, and owners who ignore that order…

The Town Code has no separate car-alarm section, but its general audible-alarm rule at Town Code § 144-3O reaches any alarm, including a vehicle's factory or aftermarket system, that…

Hempstead treats a noisy air-conditioning unit the same as any other mechanical nuisance: § 144-3(N) of the Unreasonable Noise chapter bans operating machinery, equipment, pumps, fans…

In the Town of Hempstead's unincorporated areas, no tree may go into the sidewalk strip in front of a property unless its root system will not damage the sidewalk, curb, or utility…

The Town of Hempstead opted out of allowing adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries and on-site consumption sites under state Cannabis Law § 131, banning that licensure entirely in the…

New York law lets adults 21 and over grow cannabis at home and preempts municipalities from prohibiting it, setting uniform plant limits and secure storage requirements statewide.

Before the Building Department will approve construction, a new Hempstead dwelling's first floor must sit at least one and a half feet above the local groundwater table, and any…

Chapter 76 of the Hempstead Code lets the seven-member Landmarks Preservation Commission designate any place, structure or building of historical or architectural significance as a…

Every homeowner, occupant and business in unincorporated Hempstead must keep the sidewalk in front of the property free of snow and ice during the winter season, plus keep it clean and…

Hempstead declares any structurally unsafe, unsanitary, fire-hazardous or otherwise dangerous building illegal under § 86-27A and requires it to be repaired, rehabilitated or…

Hempstead bars anyone in possession of vacant, unimproved land from letting weeds or brush exceed 8 inches, letting garbage or rubbish pile up, or growing bamboo, and can bill the…

In the Town of Hempstead (outside its incorporated villages), no one may rent out a dwelling unit without first obtaining a rental occupancy permit from the Code Enforcement Official…

Hempstead's Housing and Rehabilitation Code bars anyone from occupying or renting out a dwelling unit that lacks a working kitchen sink and a complete bathroom fixture group connected…

Nassau County landlords cannot refuse to rent to a tenant because their rent is paid through Section 8 or another lawful subsidy program: source of income is a protected class…

Nassau County's Open Housing Law bars landlords from refusing to rent, negotiate, or lease housing because a tenant's income comes from a housing voucher, disability benefits, or other…

Before filing a nonpayment eviction, a New York landlord must serve a 14-day written rent demand under RPAPL Section 711. The demand requires, in the alternative, payment of rent or…

New York's Good Cause Eviction Law (RPL Article 6-A) limits evictions and rent hikes for covered tenants in NYC by default, with optional adoption by other municipalities.

Real Property Law Section 238-a, added by the 2019 HSTPA, caps residential late fees at $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less, and bars any late fee until rent is more than…

To end a tenancy or decline to renew, a New York landlord must give written notice scaled to how long the tenant has lived in the unit under Real Property Law Section 226-c: 30 days…

New York requires advance written notice before a landlord raises rent 5% or more, or declines to renew a lease. The notice window scales with how long the tenant has lived in the…

Since the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, New York landlords cannot collect a security deposit larger than one month's rent. Within 14 days after a tenant vacates…

New York's adverse possession period is 10 years of continuous, exclusive possession under RPAPL Sections 501 and 511. A 2024 budget amendment to RPAPL Section 711 clarified that…

Town of Hempstead Code Chapter 103 requires any organization running a bingo game in the Town to hold a license under the state Bingo Licensing Law, caps a single bingo prize at $250…

New York's Upstate Gaming Economic Development Act divides the state into two casino development zones. Zone One is New York City plus Nassau, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, and…

New York's Penal Law never criminalizes playing a private card game or betting pool: it only criminalizes advancing or profiting from gambling. Penal Law § 225.00(3) protects anyone…

Sports betting is legal in New York only through operators licensed by the state Gaming Commission under Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law Section 1367-a. Nine mobile…

Town Code § 99-20 authorizes the Code Enforcement Official to inspect any rental dwelling unit in the Town of Hempstead to safeguard public health and safety, with owner or occupant…

The Town of Hempstead outright prohibits planting, growing or maintaining bamboo on any improved or vacant lot, including bamboo that spreads in from a neighboring property. The ban…

Nassau County bans selling, transporting, propagating, or transplanting more than 80 listed invasive plant species, and separately bars dumping any of them into county waterways or…

Town of Hempstead Code § 78-8 bars anyone from tenting, camping, or erecting a tent, shelter or camp in any Town park except in areas the Town Board or Director specifically designates…

Town of Hempstead Code § 78-15 lets the Town Board set the hour each Town park opens and closes, with the Director able to override those hours and close a park at his sole discretion…

Nassau County runs a traffic-camera enforcement program authorized by Local Law 12-2009, ticketing vehicle owners, not drivers, $50 per red-light violation at up to 100 monitored…

Nassau County law bars cyclists from riding recklessly on roadways or sidewalks, weaving between cars, or riding within two feet of vehicles or pedestrians while stunting. Violators…

New York draws a hard line between a golf cart and a low-speed vehicle. A low-speed vehicle is defined by Vehicle and Traffic Law § 121-f as a limited use automobile with a maximum…

Nassau County requires co-op governing boards to acknowledge purchase applications within 15 days and accept or reject completed applications within 45 days, under Local Law No…

New York has no comprehensive HOA act. Condominiums get a statutory common-charge lien under Real Property Law § 339-z that is foreclosable like a mortgage but junior to a first…

New York voids HOA bans on solar power and EV charging. Real Property Law § 342 (Solar Rights Act) makes any restriction effectively prohibiting a solar system unenforceable and void…

New York's Electric Vehicle Rights Act, Real Property Law Article 9-D Section 343, bars homeowners' associations statewide from adopting rules that effectively prohibit or unreasonably…

New York Real Property Law Section 339-j strips condominium boards of managers of the power to enforce any by-law, rule, or resolution against a unit owner who displays a United States…

New York creates an assessment lien by statute only for condominiums. Real Property Law § 339-z gives the board of managers a lien on each unit for unpaid common charges that outranks…

New York condominiums have no inherent power to restrict unit leasing: under Real Property Law § 339-v(2)(a), by-laws "may also provide for" leasing restrictions only if the board…

Nassau County doesn't license street vendors, but Local Law No. 12-1990 sets strict operating rules for frozen-dessert vending vehicles: where you may stop, how you display the…

Every mobile food service establishment and pushcart in New York needs a valid permit from the local health department before operating, under Subpart 14-4 of the State Sanitary Code…

Nassau County imposes a 3% occupancy tax on the per diem room rate at every hotel, motel, bed-and-breakfast, and short-term rental countywide, collected by owners and remitted…

Nassau County prohibits every food service establishment, store, and mobile food commissary from selling or offering any disposable food service item made of polystyrene foam. The ban…

The New York Bag Waste Reduction Law (Environmental Conservation Law §27-2801, enacted 2019, enforced March 2020) bans most single-use plastic carryout bags statewide. Counties and…

New York prohibits the sale and distribution of expanded polystyrene foam food containers and loose packing peanuts statewide under Environmental Conservation Law Article 27.

New York Labor Law §652 sets a tiered statewide minimum wage that leaves no room for local wage ordinances. As of January 1, 2026 the rate is $17.00/hr in NYC, Long Island, and…

New York mandates paid sick leave under Labor Law § 196-b and paid family leave under Workers' Compensation Law Article 9, with statewide coverage that applies to nearly every private…

New York requires a state-issued concealed carry license under Penal Law § 400.00, with mandatory training and a long list of statewide sensitive locations where carry is forbidden.

New York Penal Law treats a vehicle as a public place for firearm purposes, requiring a valid pistol license to transport a handgun and strict storage rules for long guns and…

No section of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law authorizes sobriety checkpoints by name. The practice rests on Court of Appeals case law, chiefly People v. Scott, applied against…

New York is one of the few states that put the right to record police into its own statute rather than leaving it to case law. Civil Rights Law § 79-p, headed "Recording certain…

New York has no stop-and-identify statute. Criminal Procedure Law § 140.50(1) lets a police officer who reasonably suspects a felony or a misdemeanor defined in the Penal Law stop you…

New York wrote an unusually specific rule into the Penal Law when it legalized adult-use cannabis: § 222.05(2) provides that no conduct made lawful by that section shall constitute the…

Agriculture and Markets Law Article 25-AA governs certified agricultural districts statewide and limits how local zoning can apply to working farms inside them.

NY Agriculture and Markets Law §301-309 protects sound agricultural practices in certified Agricultural Districts from local ordinances and private nuisance suits. The Commissioner…

In New York, affixing a political sign, poster, or notice to property you neither own nor have permission to use, a utility pole, highway structure, or another person's land, is…

New York Public Health Law §1399-cc raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco and vapor products to 21 (Tobacco 21 Act, signed 2019). New York also bans the sale of all flavored vapor…

New York prohibits the sale of flavored vapor products statewide under Public Health Law § 1399-mm-1, allowing only tobacco-flavored e-liquid for legal retail sale.

Vehicle and Traffic Law section 375(41) governs every light added to a New York vehicle beyond the lamps the law already requires, and it opens with a near total prohibition: no light…

New York grants a dash cam no designated place on the windshield. Vehicle and Traffic Law section 375(30) makes it unlawful to operate a motor vehicle with any object placed or hung in…

New York prohibits lane splitting outright. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1252(c) makes it illegal to operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of…

New York does not allow license plate covers of any kind. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 402(1)(b)(ii-a) states flatly that number plates shall not be covered by glass or any plastic…

New York does not ban radar detectors in private passenger cars. Vehicle and Traffic Law section 397-a prohibits using a radar or laser detector only in a motor vehicle with a gross…

New York allows studded snow tires, but only within a fixed season and only within precise dimensional limits. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 375(35-a) makes it unlawful to drive a motor…

New York requires at least 70 percent light transmittance through the front windshield, both front side windows and the rear window under Vehicle and Traffic Law section 375(12-a)(b)…