Union, NY Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required
- Written permit from the Commissioner to camp
- Park closing hours
- 9:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. unless permitted
- Maximum fine
- $250 or 15 days in jail, or both
- Alternative sanction
- Written ban from the parks at Commissioner's discretion
- Unattended vehicles
- Towed at owner's expense after closing hours
- Where it applies
- Town of Union parks, outside Endicott and Johnson City
Summary
In the Town of Union outside the Villages of Endicott and Johnson City, nobody can establish or maintain a camp or other temporary lodging or sleeping place in a Town park without a written permit from the Commissioner. Parks also close from 9:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., and violators can be fined or banned.
§ 148-12. Camps and camping. A. No person shall establish or maintain any camp or other temporary lodging or sleeping place within the park without a written permit from the Commissioner.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 148 of the Code of the Town of Union governs the parks run by the Town of Union Parks and Recreation Department, and § 148-12A is its camping rule: no person shall establish or maintain any camp or other temporary lodging or sleeping place within the park without a written permit from the Commissioner. Section 148-3 defines the Commissioner as the Deputy Commissioner of Public Works for Parks or authorized personnel, and defines park as any land or physical structures owned or controlled by the Town and administered by the Parks and Recreation Department, including parks, picnic areas, nature reserves and other special use areas. The rule reaches tents, shelters and any other temporary sleeping place, not only formal campsites.
Several companion rules shape what happens around a park camp. Under § 148-21A no persons shall remain, stop or park within any Town park between 9:30 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. prevailing local time, except in emergencies or with a written permit from the Commissioner, and § 148-14 bars entering or remaining after closing hours. Section 148-5A prohibits leaving behind or dumping any material in the park except the refuse, ashes, garbage and other material of a picnic, camp or other permitted activity, which must go in receptacles provided. Section 148-13 limits fires to small culinary fires in grills or designated areas approved by the Commissioner, and § 148-22F lets the Town tow a vehicle left unattended after closing hours at the owner's expense.
Enforcement is by the Commissioner, park rangers and other designated agents, plus local, county or state police, who can issue appearance tickets under § 148-25. Section 148-11A requires compliance with any lawful order of the Commissioner. The Town of Union has no police force of its own, so county and state officers back up park staff. This is a park rule; it does not address public land outside the Town's parks.
Violations & Fines
Under § 148-24 a violation of the park rules is a violation punishable by a fine not exceeding $250 or imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or both. At the Commissioner's discretion the person can instead be banned from the parks for a period specified in writing, and a person so notified is prohibited from entering or remaining on park property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I camp overnight in a Town of Union park?
Who is the Commissioner under the park rules?
What happens to trash left at a park camp?
Who enforces the park camping rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Union
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