Mount Vernon, NY

Mount Vernon is a fully built-out urban city with no wildland-urban interface, so there is no defensible-space brush clearance requirement. Property maintenance code still requires…

Open burning of brush, leaves, or trash is prohibited in Mount Vernon. The city's extreme density (4 sq mi, 73,000 residents) means no open burning is practical. NY DEC Part 215 also…

Small contained recreational fires using clean dry wood or charcoal are generally allowed if under 3 ft high and 4 ft diameter, attended at all times, and kept well away from…

Mount Vernon's Liquefied Petroleum Gases chapter fixes minimum setback distances for every propane container based on its water capacity, keyed to the nearest building and the…

Every Mount Vernon short-term rental must have a functioning smoke detector inside each sleeping room plus one on the ceiling or wall just outside each sleeping room, approved by the…

Westchester is not a designated high wildfire hazard area. NYS DEC tracks fire danger countywide; northern rural towns have moderate wildland-urban interface risk.

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…

Pool barriers follow NYS Residential Code Appendix G: 48-inch fence, self-closing/self-latching gate opening away from pool, latch 40+ inches high.

Mount Vernon's zoning code locates and sizes residential pools under City Code § 267-14.C: above-ground pools are capped at 48 inches of exposed height with matching evergreen…

In Mount Vernon's MVW Transit-Oriented Development District near the Mount Vernon West train station, any parking lot with more than 150 spaces must include at least two electric…

Mount Vernon bans parking any trailer or house car used for living or sleeping quarters anywhere in the city, including private driveways and yards, unless it sits inside a…

Mount Vernon's Traffic Code bars parking that blocks a driveway or obstructs a lawfully parked vehicle, and separately forbids parking in emergency access lanes and licensed taxicab…

Once three or more inches of snow falls within 24 hours, Mount Vernon declares a public snow emergency and bans parking on any street being cleared. The Department of Public Works and…

Mount Vernon can tow any vehicle abandoned or illegally parked on a City street, and if it goes unclaimed for 15 days after towing, the Commissioner must notify the owner and sell it…

On nine named commercial corridors, Mount Vernon bans all on-street parking between 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. under City Code § 227-64.1, a rule the City Council enacted in 2016 over the…

Mount Vernon bans commercial vehicles, including tractor-trailers, buses and heavy equipment, from parking on any City street between 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. unless the vehicle carries…

Only licensed commercial vehicles may stop in a Mount Vernon street space marked by official signs as a loading zone, and even they must yield to emergencies, police direction or the…

Mount Vernon requires access driveways serving one- and two-family homes to be at least nine feet wide, set back three feet from side and rear lot lines, and graded no steeper than 10…

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…

Mount Vernon requires a certificate of appropriateness from the Architectural Review Board before any building permit issues for a proposed retaining wall. The five-member Board…

Mount Vernon sets fence height by yard and district under City Code § 267-14.B: open wrought-iron or masonry fences top out at four feet in front yards, three feet if solid masonry…

Mount Vernon bans electrically charged fences, barbed-wire fences and any fence built of sharp materials citywide under City Code § 267-14.B(3)(f). The one exception lets barbed or…

Mount Vernon's Building Commissioner cannot issue a permit for a fence that violates the height and material standards in City Code § 267-14B unless the Zoning Board of Appeals grants…

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…

Mount Vernon dogs may not run at large on any street, walk or public ground; City Code § 116-1 requires a collar or harness with an ID tag and a chain or leash no longer than six feet…

Mount Vernon bans keeping any wild, ferocious or dangerous species as a pet anywhere in the City, limiting such animals to a licensed research lab, a bonded commercial animal dealer or…

Mount Vernon regulates dogs by behavior, not breed: a former provision naming pit bulls as inherently 'vicious' was repealed in 2001. City Code Article III now bans vicious dogs…

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…

Mount Vernon's Noise Control Ordinance sets numeric decibel ceilings for every zoning district, tighter at night in residential areas and looser in manufacturing zones. Impulsive or…

Mount Vernon limits noisy construction work, such as pile drivers, pneumatic hammers and steam hoists, to 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays. Construction sites near homes also face…

Mount Vernon bans playing amplified music, radios or phonographs loud enough to disturb the neighborhood, and outright prohibits using loudspeakers or amplifiers to advertise a…

Mount Vernon's Noise Control Ordinance treats a frequently or continually noisy animal or bird as a violation whenever it disturbs neighborhood peace and quiet. Barking audible 50 feet…

From 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., Mount Vernon's residential noise ceiling drops to 55 db(A), ten points below its 65 db(A) daytime cap, under § 178-4.14 of the Noise Control Ordinance. Any sound…

Mount Vernon caps the sound of any moving motor vehicle at a fixed decibel level measured 50 feet from the roadway, and separately bans exhaust systems that lack a working muffler…

Mount Vernon's noise code bars operating any aircraft in a way that violates the Federal Aviation Administration's certified noise levels under Advisory Circular 36-1, folding federal…

Mount Vernon bans gas-powered leaf blowers outside two set windows, March 1 to April 30 and October 1 to December 31, under City Code § 191-42. Non-gas blowers run June 15 to September…

Every plant installed on a project site in Mount Vernon's MX-1 Commercial Corridor District must be drought tolerant, hardy, and native to the area based on USDA plant hardiness zone…

Mount Vernon requires a written Department of Public Works permit before anyone trims a tree on public property, and separately obligates a tree owner to cut back branches or roots…

Removing most trees in Mount Vernon requires a Department of Public Works permit: the owner applies at least 20 business days before the work, pays $50 per tree, and hires a…

When the county Health Commissioner declares a noxious-weed danger, no Westchester County property owner may allow ragweed, poison ivy or other allergenic weeds to grow on their land.

Once the County Executive declares a drought emergency, lawns may be watered only 4 hours a day in early-morning or evening windows, on odd or even days matching your street address.

Mount Vernon allows one home occupation or a professional's home office inside a residence, but City Code § 267-18.A limits it tightly: no sign for a customary home occupation, floor…

A licensed home occupation or professional office in a Mount Vernon dwelling may serve only one patient, client, customer or other visitor at any one time. Section 267-18.A(6) caps…

Mount Vernon allows a customary home occupation in a dwelling unit but bans it from having any sign at all. Only the narrower category of a professional person's home office may post…

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…

Mount Vernon can revoke a short-term rental permit for a unit in a multifamily building once the Police Department or Building Inspector substantiates three written complaints about…

Mount Vernon short-term rental hosts must pay a Building Department processing fee to get a permit and must keep current on any applicable occupancy tax while the permit is active…

Mount Vernon requires every short-term rental to provide proper off-street parking under Chapter 267's general parking article, and bars hosts from letting guests park on the lawn. The…

Mount Vernon requires a short-term rental permit from the Building Department before any dwelling unit or room is advertised, rented or leased for stays under 30 days. The property…

Mount Vernon requires every short-term rental owner to use best efforts to keep guests from creating unreasonable noise, disorderly conduct, illegal drug use or unlawful drinking…

When a Mount Vernon owner or tenant rents out only part of their home while remaining in residence, Section 267-98F sets no annual limit on the number of short-term rental days, unlike…

Mount Vernon limits short-term rental of an entire dwelling unit to 180 days per calendar year under Section 267-98F of the Zoning Code, counting any night the property is occupied…

Mount Vernon caps short-term rental occupancy by room size under Section 267-98H: one guest per sleeping room of 70 to 100 square feet and two guests in rooms larger than 100 square…

Mount Vernon only allows a property to operate as a short-term rental if it is the owner's or tenant's occupied primary residence, under City Code § 267-96B. Investor-owned homes…

Westchester's Room Occupancy Tax law treats short-term rental booking platforms as 'room remarketers' deemed to operate the hotel, making them liable to collect and remit the county's…

Mount Vernon caps an accessory building like a shed or detached garage at one story and 12 feet in height under § 267-14.M, and requires it to sit at least three feet from every side…

Mount Vernon is an MS4 community regulated under NYS DEC SPDES GP-0-15-003. City Stormwater Management Program restricts illicit discharges to storm sewers. Only rainwater may enter…

Mount Vernon bars new construction within 25 feet of any tidal or freshwater wetland boundary in the city's Chapter 267 zoning code, but carves out piers, docks, marinas, and boat…

Construction sites in Mount Vernon can't disturb more than five acres at once without an approved plan. City Code § 226-8 caps active soil disturbance under the state's Erosion Control…

Mount Vernon's zoning code flatly bars new construction in any designated floodplain unless the project first satisfies the city's flood hazard protection requirements. 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…

Planting a tree anywhere on Mount Vernon public property, including the curbside parkway strip, requires a written permit from the Commissioner of Public Works under City Code Section…

Mount Vernon's tree code automatically classifies any state-listed endangered or threatened tree as a "significant tree," which cannot be removed without a Department of Public Works…

Mount Vernon designates a "heritage tree" as one with unique, irreplaceable value for its age, rarity, size, or historic significance, and folds that designation into the code's…

Mount Vernon landlords must keep multiple dwellings heated and supplied with hot water under City Code Chapter 149. The Commissioner of Buildings inspects on complaint and charges a…

Every absentee owner of real property in Mount Vernon, meaning anyone who is not a permanent city resident or a corporation without a Mount Vernon office, must file a written…

The county's Fair Housing Law bars landlords, brokers and agents from refusing tenants because their income includes Section 8 vouchers, social security, alimony, or other public…

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…

Mount Vernon requires watertight garbage and rubbish receptacles capped at 35 gallons or two cubic yards. Cans must stay inside the building or rear yard until pickup, then move to the…

Mount Vernon law bars mixing bottles, glass, ashes and other nonburnable material into the same can as garbage. Section 140-2(C) requires those materials to be separated and placed in…

Mount Vernon bars leaving limbs, leaves, grass, weeds or brush loose on a street or sidewalk. Section 191-4 requires that yard debris be bundled or placed in receptacles for removal…

The Mount Vernon Commissioner of Public Works sets garbage and rubbish collection days and times by standard rule filed with the City Clerk. Section 140-3 bars cutting the number of…

Dumping dirt, construction debris, trade waste or garbage from a truck onto any street, lot or public or private property in Mount Vernon carries a fine of $5,000 to $20,000. Vehicle…

Licensed haulers in Mount Vernon cannot collect garbage, rubbish or trade waste between 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Section 140-11 exempts only areas the Commissioner of Public Works…

Placing a roll-off container or dumpster on a Mount Vernon street, sidewalk, or other public ground falls under the City's street opening permit rules. City Code Section 227-18 lists…

Mount Vernon's Commissioner of Public Works can enter any property, public or private, to remove accumulated rubbish, fill stagnant depressions and abate ragweed or other noxious weed…

Mount Vernon's Commissioner of Buildings can order repair, vacation or demolition of any building that leans, is fire-damaged, is unfit for habitation, or is otherwise unsafe under…

Mount Vernon gives property owners and lessees just 12 hours after snow stops falling, or ice forms, to clear the abutting sidewalk under City Code § 227-56, and requires sand, salt or…

Mount Vernon requires sprinkler equipment in every multiple dwelling to stay in proper operating condition at all times, with clear water valves and corrosion-free heads. The…

Mount Vernon's Housing Code makes owners keep elevators, dumbwaiters and escalators in multiple dwellings free of physical and fire hazards, with posted capacity signs, emergency…

Mount Vernon requires apartment buildings with six or more units to have automatic self-closing, self-locking entrance doors, buzzers to alert tenants to visitors, and a release…

Mount Vernon requires a building permit before any construction, enlargement, alteration, demolition or solid-fuel heating appliance installation covered by the state Uniform Code or…

Mount Vernon requires construction work to stay exposed until a Code Enforcement Officer, Building Inspector or Fire Inspector inspects and accepts it, with mandatory checkpoints from…

New construction and major renovations in Mount Vernon's MX-1 Commercial Corridor District must pursue LEED Gold or LEED Silver certification, Enterprise Green, or an equivalent…

Mount Vernon requires a carbon monoxide detector in every short-term rental dwelling unit that has a fuel-burning appliance, system, or other CO source, approved by the Building…

Westchester County requires a county-wide master plumber's license, not a town-issued credential, before anyone may install, alter, test or repair plumbing systems requiring a permit…

Westchester County, not individual towns, licenses master electricians and electrical inspectors county-wide; no one may perform or hold themselves out as an electrician without a…

Westchester County's housing code requires existing lead-poisoning paint conditions in dwellings to be eliminated under the state Public Health Law's lead-poisoning prevention…

Mount Vernon requires a Building Department vacancy inspection, with a $10 fee, before any owner may re-rent a vacant dwelling unit. The unit cannot be rented until it is certified…

The Building Commissioner must investigate every complaint of an alleged housing violation or unsafe or unsanitary condition in Mount Vernon, then order any confirmed violation fixed…

Mount Vernon restricts where and when licensed food vendors can operate on public sidewalks and streets. Vending is barred before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m., except food trucks get…

Mount Vernon bans peddling and food vending outright on a defined list of downtown streets, including Fourth Avenue, Gramatan Avenue, Broad Street, Grand Street, Fleetwood Avenue…

Mount Vernon requires every food vendor operating a mobile food truck, cart or pushcart to hold a City Clerk license before selling food anywhere in the city. Applicants need…

Mount Vernon's Housing Code bars any harborage of insects, vermin or rodents on residential grounds and buildings, requires basement and cellar openings to be screened where…

Chain restaurants with 15 or more locations in Westchester County must post calories for every standard menu item on menus and menu boards, enforced by the County Health Department.

Mount Vernon charges a 2.5% sales tax on hotel room rent under City Code Chapter 234, collected by operators the same way as the City's general sales tax. Permanent residents of 90+…

Mount Vernon's noise ordinance specifically outlaws unreasonably loud loading and unloading noise, including slamming crates, boxes and containers during a delivery. It's one of…

Mount Vernon bars auto shops from testing car alarms within 100 feet of a residential zoning district by sounding them openly. Testing is only allowed indoors with doors and windows…

Mount Vernon caps continuous noise crossing the property line from any air-conditioning or air-handling device in residential zones at 55 db(A), under § 178-4.9 of the Noise Control…

Mount Vernon bans any restaurant, bar, cafe, discotheque or dance hall from running sound at or above 95 db(A) for more than 30 seconds at the spot where patrons sit, under § 178-4.12…

Cyclists on Mount Vernon streets must ride as close to the right-hand curb as possible and stay single file, never two or more abreast. Sidewalk and park-path riding is banned except…

The county runs a red-light camera demonstration program at up to 50 intersections at a time, needing city consent for cameras inside White Plains, Yonkers, Mount Vernon or New…

Westchester County bars selling, leasing or renting e-bikes and electric mobility devices unless their battery and electrical system carry UL, IEC, ANSI or SAE safety certification.

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…

Anyone filming a commercial, movie, documentary, TV program or other production on Mount Vernon streets, sidewalks or other property needs a permit from the City Clerk first. The…

A Mount Vernon filming permit that involves closing a public street needs the Commissioner of Public Safety's sign-off, and the applicant must pay for any security officers the…

Mount Vernon requires anyone who buys or sells secondhand articles, including junk shops, junkyards, scrap metal establishments and waste material handling plants, to hold a…

Mount Vernon allows an adult entertainment store, live entertainment business or adult motion-picture theater only by special permit, capped at 5,000 square feet, one type per…

Mount Vernon requires anyone towing an unauthorized car from a private or public parking lot to hold a City towing permit, post a compliant sign, and use a City-licensed operator. Tow…

Mount Vernon's zoning code expressly prohibits any adult massage establishment, defining it as a fixed place of business offering massages, including massage parlors, sauna baths and…

Anyone doing pawnbroker business in Mount Vernon needs a Mayor-issued license under City Code § 189-2, renewed every January 1 for $350, backed by a $15,000 surety bond. Operating…

Westchester County issues no vape-shop license: that is New York State's job. County law controls the counter instead: e-cigarettes count as tobacco products, must sit behind a manned…

Only bona fide religious, charitable, veteran and volunteer-firefighter organizations may run bingo in Mount Vernon, and only after the Commissioner of Licenses issues a license under…

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…

Mount Vernon bans planting running bamboo anywhere in the city and declares any running bamboo that spreads onto a neighboring lot a public nuisance with no grandfathered right to keep…

Mount Vernon's tree ordinance defines invasive species and invasive vines by reference to the state DEC's identification, and makes it unlawful for a property owner to let a tree…

Residents can file a complaint with Mount Vernon's Code Enforcement Officer alleging any condition that violates the Uniform Code, Energy Code or a local ordinance, and the officer…

Mount Vernon fast-tracks small solar arrays. Under City Code § 224A-6, any Tier 1 system, roof-mounted, building-integrated, or a solar canopy, rated 25 kW or less uses the New York…

Every solar installation in Mount Vernon needs a building permit before work starts, City Code § 224A-5. Larger, ground-mounted Tier 3 arrays also need a Planning Board special permit…

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…

In Mount Vernon's MX-1 Commercial Corridor District, City Code Section 267-19.A(8)(d)(3) tells applicants that spotlighting or glare from site lighting should be shielded from adjacent…

Mount Vernon caps outdoor light fixtures at 10 feet above street level for projects in the MX-1 Commercial Corridor District under City Code Section 267-19.A(8)(d)(5), and flatly bars…

Anyone who wants to obstruct, encumber or occupy a Mount Vernon street or sidewalk needs a written permit from the Commissioner of Public Works first, City Code § 227-38. Permits run a…

Property owners and lessees in Mount Vernon, not the City, are responsible for keeping the sidewalk in front of their premises in good repair. Section 227-56 requires abutting owners…

Mount Vernon bans building into the City's right-of-way outright. City Code § 267-14.P allows only narrow exceptions, an 18-inch architectural projection seven feet or higher, or a use…

Restaurants can't set up outdoor tables in Mount Vernon without a City Clerk permit under § 227-50.3, priced at $60 per table and $10 per chair, and cafes may only operate 8 a.m. to 8…

Holding a meeting, giving a speech, or putting up a stand, structure or platform in any Mount Vernon park or street park requires a permit from the City Council under § 186-11. The…

All processions and parades on Mount Vernon streets need a written permit signed by the Mayor under City Code § 191-9. The City Clerk charges a $100 fee and requires a $500,000…

Anyone who sells goods, wares, or food from various locations at a Mount Vernon fair, festival, or citywide celebration counts as an 'itinerant vendor' under City Code § 194-2 and…

Mount Vernon closes its parks to loitering overnight under § 186-16C: 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. from May through October, and 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. from November through April, unless the…

Beyond the citywide park curfew, Mount Vernon closes its two named athletic fields on their own schedules: Hutchinson Field from 11 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. under § 170-1C, and Memorial Field…

Mount Vernon bans smoking of tobacco, cannabis, hookah, or vaping devices within 25 feet of any city park, playground, street park, or tot lot. City Code § 186-18 covers all forms of…

Mount Vernon bans drinking or possessing an open container of beer, wine, or other intoxicating beverage on any public street, sidewalk, alley, highway, playground, or parking area…

Projects in Mount Vernon's Downtown Transit Oriented Arts District must be designed under a form-based code that judges approval against specific practices for facades, signage…

In the MX-1 Commercial Corridor District, Mount Vernon lets a developer apply to the Planning Board for a density bonus of two, three, or five extra stories in exchange for public…

Mount Vernon caps freestanding accessory buildings, sheds, detached garages and the like, at one story and 12 feet under City Code § 267-14.M, though an accessory structure used solely…

Mount Vernon will not issue a building permit that exceeds a zoning district's maximum impervious surface coverage or skips the required landscaped buffer, unless the applicant first…

Mount Vernon opted in to allow licensed adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries and consumption sites, confining them to six zoning districts under City Code § 267-85A: Neighborhood…

Mount Vernon bars a new cannabis dispensary or consumption site from opening within 1,000 feet of another one, or within 500 feet of a school, house of worship, or community purpose…

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.

Any residential project approved as a Mount Vernon PUD-2 Planned Unit Development must place its common land in a legal property owners association. City Code Section 267-26 requires…

In Mount Vernon's PUD-2 Planned Unit Development District, every property owner automatically belongs to the project's property owners association and owes a proportionate share of its…

New York homeowners association boards answer to Not-for-Profit Corporation Law Section 621. A member of record for at least six months, or a holder of five percent of any voting…

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…

Canvassing, vending, or soliciting door-to-door on private residential property in Mount Vernon requires a City Clerk license under § 194-21, plus fingerprinting and a background…

Mount Vernon caps interior window signage at 20 percent of a storefront's aggregate window area, or 10 square feet if that window area is under 100 square feet. Multi-tenant…

Mount Vernon caps political and campaign signs at 16 square feet and four feet in height under City Code § 267-77G(9). Candidates or campaign managers must apply to the Commissioner…

Mount Vernon prohibits the construction of any new billboard under City Code § 267-76J, a flat ban that draws no exception for digital or electronic displays. Existing billboards may…

Food service establishments and retail food stores in Westchester County may give out single-use utensils, straws and condiment packets only when a customer requests them.

Westchester County bans food service vendors and stores from possessing, selling or using expanded polystyrene foam cups, plates, trays and takeout containers.

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.

Westchester County's only codified plate-camera rule is Chapter 708. Images and license plate data from school bus stop-arm cameras must be destroyed 90 days after an alleged violation…

Westchester County exempts garage, yard, estate and moving sales from secondhand dealer licensing only if held on residential property, capped at 96 hours and four sales per year.

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…

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)…