NYC Admin Code §16-118 prohibits urinating or defecating in any public place, and the 2016 Criminal Justice Reform Act made the offense a civil summons by default with a $75 fine, though officers retain discretion to issue a criminal summons under disorderly conduct.
Admin Code §16-118(6) treats public urination as a litter and sanitation violation. Before 2016, NYPD issued criminal court summonses, clogging Manhattan court calendars with thousands of cases yearly. The Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2016 (Local Laws 69-71 of 2016) shifted public urination, public consumption of alcohol, littering, parks-after-dark, and unreasonable noise into the civil OATH summons track by default, with $75 fines. Police may still issue a criminal summons for repeat offenders or where conduct disturbs others. Health Code §181.04 backs up sanitation enforcement, and Penal Law §240.20 disorderly conduct still applies in egregious cases.
A first civil summons under §16-118(6) carries a $75 fine payable to OATH; criminal disorderly-conduct charges under Penal Law §240.20 remain available with up to 15 days jail and a $250 fine for aggravated cases.
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