§ 40 — Equal rights in places of public accommodation, resort or amusement

§ 40. Equal rights in places of public accommodation, resort or\namusement. All persons within the jurisdiction of this state shall be\nentitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities\nand privileges of any places of public accommodations, resort or\namusement, subject only to the conditions and limitations established by\nlaw and applicable alike to all persons. No person, being the owner,\nlessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any\nsuch place shall directly or indirectly refuse, withhold from or deny to\nany person any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or\nprivileges thereof, or directly or indirectly publish, circulate, issue,\ndisplay, post or mail any written or printed communication, notice or\nadvertisement, to the effect that any of the accommodations, advantages,\nfacilities and privileges of any such place shall be refused, withheld\nfrom or denied to any person on account of race, creed, color or\nnational origin, or that the patronage or custom thereat, of any person\nbelonging to or purporting to be of any particular race, creed, color or\nnational original is unwelcome, objectionable or not acceptable, desired\nor solicited. The production of any such written or printed\ncommunication, notice or advertisement, purporting to relate to any such\nplace and to be made by any person being the owner, lessee, proprietor,\nsuperintendent or manager thereof, shall be presumptive evidence in any\ncivil or criminal action that the same was authorized by such person. A\nplace of public accommodation, resort or amusement within the meaning of\nthis article, shall be deemed to include inns, taverns, road houses,\nhotels, whether conducted for the entertainment of transient guests or\nfor the accommodation of those seeking health, recreation or rest, or\nrestaurants, or eating houses, or any place where food is sold for\nconsumption on the premises; buffets, saloons, barrooms, or any store,\npark or enclosure where spirituous or malt liquors are sold; ice cream\nparlors, confectioneries, soda fountains, and all stores where ice\ncream, ice and fruit preparations or their derivatives, or where\nbeverages of any kind are retailed for consumption on the premises;\nretail stores and establishments, dispensaries, clinics, hospitals,\nbath-houses, barber-shops, beauty parlors, theatres, motion picture\nhouses, airdromes, roof gardens, music halls, race courses, skating\nrinks, amusement and recreation parks, fairs, bowling alleys, golf\ncourses, gymnasiums, shooting galleries, billiard and pool parlors,\npublic libraries, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, high\nschools, academies, colleges and universities, extension courses, and\nall educational institutions under the supervision of the regents of the\nstate of New York; and any such public library, kindergarten, primary\nand secondary school, academy, college, university, professional school,\nextension course, or other educational facility, supported in whole or\nin part by public funds or by contributions solicited from the general\npublic; garages, all public conveyances, operated on land or water, as\nwell as the stations and terminals thereof; public halls and public\nelevators of buildings and structures occupied by two or more tenants,\nor by the owner and one or more tenants. With regard to institutions for\nthe care of neglected and/or delinquent children supported directly or\nindirectly, in whole or in part, by public funds, no accommodations,\nadvantages, facilities and privileges of such institutions shall be\nrefused, withheld from or denied to any person on account of race or\ncolor. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to modify or\nsupersede any of the provisions of the children's court act, the social\nwelfare law or the domestic relations court act of New York city in\nregard to religion of custodial persons or agencies or to include any\ninstitution, club, or place of accommodation which is in its nature\ndistinctly private, or to prohibit the mailing of a private\ncommunication in writing sent in response to a specific written inquiry.\n No institution, club, organization or place of accommodation which\nsponsors or conducts any amateur athletic contest or sparring exhibition\nand advertises or bills such contest or exhibition as a New York state\nchampionship contest or uses the words "New York state" in its\nannouncements shall be deemed a private exhibition within the meaning of\nthis section.\n