Reduces the number of hours before a vehicle is considered abandoned; increases the dollar value of abandoned vehicles which may be seized by a local authority.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A9521
SPONSOR: Williams
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to abandoned
vehicles
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL::
Allow for abandoned vehicles to be removed off City of New York roads.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::
Section 1224(1)(a) of the Vehicle and Traffic Law ("VTL") currently
allows for a motor vehicle to be deemed abandoned if it is left unat-
tended with no number plates affixed for more than six hours on any
highway or other public place.
Section 1224(2) of the VTL currently provides that ownership of a vehi-
cle deemed abandoned on any roadway shall immediately vest in the local
authority having jurisdiction over the roadway if, among other criteria,
the wholesale value of the vehicle, based on its physical condition at
the time of abandonment, is $1,250 or less.
 
JUSTIFICATION::
The New York City Department of Sanitation (the "Department") is respon-
sible for the removal of unlawfully abandoned vehicles from streets and
other public areas in New York City. The commercial value of these vehi-
cles, commonly referred to as "derelicts" or "hulks", is marginal, often
the result of scavenging and vandalism.
The Department manages and oversees the expedient removal of unlawfully
abandoned vehicles from City roadways and public areas through its Dere-
lict Vehicle Operations ("DVO") Program and through the Department's
new, joint DSNY NYPD Citywide Abandoned Vehicle Taskforce, which enables
both agencies to increase abandoned vehicle, operations. Vehicles
subject to the DVO Program must meet both statutory requirements under
VTL § 1224(1), which includes-the requirement that the vehicle be left
unattended without plates for six hours and display substantial interior
or exterior damage. The Department's uniformed field personnel and
enforcement officers identify the worst, and potentially dangerous,
derelict vehicles based on specific criteria developed by the Department
as to the vehicle's physical condition. This set of criteria allows
Department personnel to reasonably approximate the wholesale value set
forth under VTL § 1224(2). Upon determining that the vehicle is dere-
lict, the vehicle is tagged and subsequently removed by a towing
contractor, who arranges for the recycling or proper disposal of the
abandoned vehicle. Consistent with VTL § 1224(2), the Department will
not arrange for a vehicle without plates to be towed if the Department
determines the vehicle is worth more than $1,250. Vehicles determined to
be worth more than $1,250 are removed by the New York City Police
Department under its Rotation Towing Program.
Allowing a motor vehicle to be deemed abandoned if left unattended with-
out any license plates affixed for more than six hours on any highway or
other public place is too long of a time period. This proposed legis-
lation would reduce this required time period from six hours to three
hours and would allow the Department to remove these vehicles more
quickly. These vehicles are potentially dangerous and should be removed
as quickly as possible. This proposed legislation would help to expedite
the removal of abandoned vehicles with no plates, and would help to
address the overwhelming number of complaints received by the Department
relating to abandoned vehicles - specifically, the Department received
more than 51,000 such complaints during calendar year 2023 - by allowing
for a more timely removal of problematic vehicles.
Additionally, since its DVO Program was created, the Department has
updated and improved many of its methods and operational procedures for
managing abandoned vehicles through utilization of advanced communi-
cations technology, agency personnel training, coordinated. City and
State agency efforts, and successful legislative reform. The wholesale
value of the abandoned vehicle under VU § 1224(2), however, has only
been increased four times since the State's abandoned vehicle legis-
lation was enhanced by Chapter 829 of the Laws of 1969. In 1969, the
wholesale value was fixed at $100. The last change to the statutory
wholesale value of an abandoned vehicle occurred in 2002 - over twenty
years ago -when the wholesale value was increased from $750 to $1,250.
Today, many physical components of hulk vehicles left abandoned, such as
tires and hood ornaments and certain vehicle parts, are worth more than
$1,250. Accordingly, this legislation which increases the wholesale
value of an abandoned vehicle from $1,250 to $5,000 is long overdue and
necessary to reflect the current market value of vehicles and their
components, and to keep pace with inflation.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
New legislation
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS::
N/A
 
EFFECTIVE DATE::
This act shall take 180 days after it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9521
IN ASSEMBLY
March 20, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WILLIAMS -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to abandoned
vehicles
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1224 of the vehi-
2 cle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 795 of the laws of 1974, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 (a) with no number plates affixed thereto, for more than [six] three
5 hours on any highway or other public place;
6 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 1224 of the vehicle and traffic law, as
7 amended by chapter 540 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as
8 follows:
9 2. If an abandoned vehicle, at the time of abandonment, has no number
10 plates affixed and is of a wholesale value, taking into consideration
11 the condition of the vehicle, of [one] five thousand [two hundred fifty]
12 dollars or less, ownership shall immediately vest in the local authority
13 having jurisdiction thereof and title to the vehicle shall vest in
14 accordance with applicable law and regulations of the commissioner,
15 provided however that a local authority shall not be required to obtain
16 title to an abandoned vehicle that is subject to the provisions of this
17 subdivision if the vehicle will be sold or otherwise disposed of as junk
18 or salvage, dismantled for use other than as a motor vehicle, or other-
19 wise destroyed.
20 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
21 it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14319-03-4