Gless v. City of New York

121 Misc. 2d 1030, 470 N.Y.S.2d 527, 1983 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4029
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 6, 1983
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 121 Misc. 2d 1030 (Gless v. City of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gless v. City of New York, 121 Misc. 2d 1030, 470 N.Y.S.2d 527, 1983 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4029 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1983).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Harold Tompkins, J.

This action was commenced by plaintiffs seeking a declaratory judgment that Local Law No. 23 of 1983 of the City of New York (the ordinance) is unconstitutional. Local Law No. 23 amended chapter 22 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York. Plaintiffs moved before this court on August 4, 1983 for a preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of the ordinance pending determination of the action. The ordinance was to go into effect on August 5, 1983. A temporary restraining order was granted by this court pending the hearing of the motion for a preliminary injunction on August 9, 1983 which was adjourned at the defendant’s (City) request. The City then stipulated with the plaintiffs not to enforce the ordinance [1031]*1031pending the adjourned date of the hearing. In the interim the City has moved, and the plaintiffs cross-moved, for summary judgment.

The ordinance at issue prohibits the sale of drug paraphernalia.1 It is criminal in nature and provides that anyone who knowingly sells, offers for sale or displays any cocaine spoon, marihuana pipe, hashish pipe or other drug-[1032]*1032related paraphernalia is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. (§§ E22-2.0, E22-3.0.) The ordinance is based upon the Model State Drug Paraphernalia Act drafted by the Department of Justice.

Plaintiff Marguerite Gless is the owner of “Out of Our Drawers” and plaintiff Mark Safa owns “The Village Smoke Shop” both located in Greenwich Village. Plaintiffs [1033]*1033challenge the ordinance on a number of constitutional grounds. First, they allege that the ordinance is preempted by New York State law, in particular article 39 of the General Business Law (L 1980, ch 811), sections 220.45 and 220.50 of the Penal Law and subdivision 3 of section 3387 of the Public Health Law. Plaintiffs contend that these State statutes evidence an intent on the part of the State Legislature to occupy the entire field of drug paraphernalia regulation and thereby pre-empt local legislation in that area.

Plaintiffs also assert that the ordinance is void for vagueness and therefore violative of section 6 of article I of the New York State Constitution and the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The ordinance is also challenged on the ground that it infringes upon protected speech in violation of section 8 of article I of the New York State Constitution and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Plaintiffs also assert an equal protection argument and, finally, contend that the ordinance is not rationally related to a legitimate government purpose.

In addressing the first argument, that Local Law No. 23 is pre-empted by the New York State regulatory scheme, the court notes that article IX (§ 2, subd [c], par [ii], cl [10]) of the New York State Constitution, article 2 (§ 10, subd 1, par [ii], cl a, subcl [12]) of the Municipal Home Rule Law and section 27 of the New York City Charter vest the New York City Council with broad power to provide by local law for the good government of the cities and the preservation and promotion of the health, safety and general welfare of its inhabitants. This power may, however, be limited by the enactment of State police power legislation. When the State has evidenced a desire to occupy the entire field to the exclusion of local law, a municipality is powerless to act. (Wholesale Laundry Bd. of Trade v City of New York, 17 AD2d 327, affd 12 NY2d 998.) That an ordinance has some connection with a subject upon which a State statute exists does not automatically vitiate it on that account (People v New York Trap Rock Corp., 57 NY2d 371, 378, citing People v Judiz, 38 NY2d 529, 531-532).

[1034]*1034If the Legislature of the State is found to have intended to pre-empt the field of drug paraphernalia in its police power then article IX (§ 2, subd [c], par [ii]) of the New York State Constitution prevents the City of New York from the passage of a local law inconsistent with the State statute. (People v De Jesus, 54 NY2d 465.)

The Court of Appeals recently considered the doctrine of pre-emption in Consolidated Edison Co. v Town of Red Hook (60 NY2d 99).

There Con Edison announced its intention to build an electric generating plant within the Town of Red Hook. The town responded by enacting an ordinance which required Con Edison to procure a license from the town before undertaking a site study. The court held that the Red Hook local law was pre-empted by article VIII of the Public Service Law which relates to the “Siting of Major Steam Electric Generating Facilities”.

The court recognized two infirmities requiring invalidation of the local law. First it imposed an additional layer of regulation in an area where the Legislature had evidenced its intent to pre-empt the field of regulation. Secondly, the local law was found to be inconsistent with the Public Service Law. (Supra, p 105.) Each deficiency was sufficient to require the court to invalidate the local law (Myerson v Lentini Bros. Moving & Stor. Co., 33 NY2d 250, 255).

Concerning the first infirmity the court stated that intent by the Legislature to pre-empt need not be express, it being enough that the Legislature has impliedly evinced its desire to do so. (60 NY2d, at p 105, citing People v New York Trap Rock Corp., 57 NY2d 371, 378, supra; Monroe-Livingston Sanitary Landfill v Town of Caledonia, 51 NY2d 679, 683; People v Cook, 34 NY2d 100,109.) Further, the “desire to pre-empt may be implied from a declaration of State policy by the Legislature (Robin v Incorporated Vil. of Hempstead, 30 NY2d 347, 350-351) or from the fact that the Legislature has enacted a comprehensive and detailed regulatory scheme in a particular area.” (Ibid.)

Both factors implying a desire to pre-empt were present in Consolidated Edison Co. v Town of Red Hook (supra).

Here there is concededly no express intent on the part of the Legislature to pre-empt localities from enacting drug [1035]*1035paraphernalia legislation. However, plaintiffs argue that a desire to pre-empt can be implied from both the declaration of State policy in this area and the comprehensive and detailed regulatory scheme provided by article 39 of the General Business Law and sections 220.45 and 220.50 of the Penal Law and subdivision 3 of section 3387 of the Public Health Law.

With regard to whether a desire to pre-empt can be implied from declarations of State policy, plaintiffs point to statements contained in the legislative history of article 39 of the General Business Law (L 1980, chs 811, 812). The drafters of the legislation noted that local communities had passed ordinances relating to drug paraphernalia. However, no further mention of the ordinances was made and there is no statement that article 39 was enacted to complement or supplement local acts. Plaintiffs urge that it can be inferred from the “brushing aside” of these local ordinances that the Legislature intended to pre-empt local legislation in this area.

The City on the other hand directs the court’s attention to a letter from the Minority Whip of the New York State Senate to the Governor of New York wherein the Senator urges that the measure would be “one more weapon needed to wage an all out attack on this most serious problem.

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Related

Gless v. City of New York
107 A.D.2d 607 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1985)
Dougal v. County of Suffolk
102 A.D.2d 531 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1984)

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Bluebook (online)
121 Misc. 2d 1030, 470 N.Y.S.2d 527, 1983 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4029, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gless-v-city-of-new-york-nysupct-1983.