Yonkers, NY Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

City Code § 103-94, part of the Article XII sidewalk-displays rules adopted October 27, 1992, sets the baseline obstruction rule: no person, firm or corporation may encumber or obstruct the sidewalks, streets or public ways with goods, wares, merchandise, boxes, household furniture or other articles. The only carve-out is temporary placement solely for loading or unloading, and even then the items must be removed without delay while leaving sufficient space for uninterrupted pedestrian passage at all times. Subsection B goes further for retail businesses: it is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation operating a retail establishment to vend, sell, dispose of or display goods, wares or merchandise on a public sidewalk, or to affix merchandise against or between a parking meter, fire hydrant, or telephone or utility lines and poles.

The next section, § 103-95, adds that no one may hang, place, attach or display goods or other articles on a fence, gate, awning, canopy or its frame over a sidewalk. Retailers that want to display flowers, plants, fruit or vegetables outside can apply to the Office of Licensing under § 103-96 for a permit, but that is the narrow, code-defined exception, not a general right to use the sidewalk for display or storage. Chapter 103 does not set a standalone penalty inside § 103-94 itself, so the citywide default in § 1-21(B) applies: conduct made unlawful under the Yonkers City Code with no penalty stated is punishable as a Class II offense.