Title 1: General Provisions

Chapter 1: Rules of Construction

§ 1-101 Short title.

This code shall be known and may be cited as “administrative code of the city of New York.”

§ 1-102 Legislative intent.

It is the intent of the legislature by the enactment of this chapter to recodify, without substantive change, the administrative code of the city of New York in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this chapter. The enactment of this code shall not be construed as validating, ratifying or conforming any provision hereof which was enacted by any local law of the city of New York, and incorporated within the prior administrative code of the city of New York and recodified in this code which the city was without authority to enact at the time of such enactment of such local law.

§ 1-103 Effect of local law.

This chapter shall not operate to deprive the local legislative body of the city of New York of the power to enact local laws in relation to any matter in respect to which such power would otherwise exist, nor shall it limit such power. If this power otherwise exists, any provision of this chapter may be superseded, supplemented or amended by local law in the same manner and to the same extent as such provisions could be superseded, supplemented or amended had this chapter not been enacted.

§ 1-104 Judicial notice.

1. All courts shall take judicial notice of all laws contained in the code, the charter, local laws, ordinances, the health code, resolutions, and of all rules and regulations adopted pursuant to law.
2. The compilations of rules and regulations published pursuant to subdivision f of section eleven hundred five of the charter shall be prima facie evidence in all courts of the authenticity of the provisions contained therein.

§ 1-105 Separability.

If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of the code shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

§ 1-106 No failure of applicable statutes.

Any provision of any statute applicable to the city or any part thereof, now or hereafter enacted, imposing functions generally, specifically or by devolution, upon any agency, which is not identified in the city by the designation provided in such statute, shall be deemed to have imposed such functions upon any agency of the city or part thereof, to which has been transferred the functions of the designated agency or which exercises similar functions, or in the absence of such agency, upon the mayor.

§ 1-107 Pending actions and proceedings.

No action or proceeding, civil or criminal, pending at the time the code shall take effect, brought by or against the city or any agency or officer thereof, shall be affectabated by the adoption of the code or by anything therein contained. All such actions and proceedings may be continued in full force and effect under the appropriate provisions of the code.

§ 1-108 Existing rights and remedies saved.

No existing right or remedy of any kind shall be lost or impaired by reason of this recodification.

§ 1-109 Enumeration of powers not restrictive.

The enumeration of specific powers by this code shall not operate to restrict the meaning of a general grant of power contained in this code or to exclude other powers comprehended in such general grant.

§ 1-110 No repeal by implication.

1. It is not intended by this code to repeal by implication any existing provision of law and no law shall be deemed repealed thereby unless expressly provided for herein.
2. No law hereafter enacted shall be construed to repeal any provision of this code by implication, but every such provision shall be deemed to be in full force and effect until specifically repealed or amended.

§ 1-111 Amendment of water supply provisions.

All rights and powers to amend, modify, extend or supersede any provision or provisions of sections 5-376 through 5-399, 5-401 through 5-403, 5-410, 5-418, 5-423, 5-424, 5-426, 5-429, 24-301, 24-347 through 24-352, and 24-354 through 24-365 of this code and any other provision or provisions of this code relating to any lands now or hereafter acquired outside the corporate limits of the city for water supply purposes, including highways, bridges and sewers, are hereby reserved to the legislature of the state of New York.

§ 1-112 Definitions.

Unless expressly otherwise provided, whenever used in the code, the following terms shall mean or include:

1. “Agency”. A city, county, borough, or other office, department, division, bureau, board or commission, or a corporation, institution or agency of government, the expenses of which are paid in whole or in part from the city treasury.
2. “Budget”. The expense budget unless the context otherwise requires.
3. “Charter”. The New York city charter.
4. “City”. The city of New York.
5. “County”. Any county wholly included within the city of New York.
6. “Employee”. Any person whose salary in whole or in part is paid out of the city treasury.
7. “Intercepting sewer”. A sewer the principal purpose of which is the interception from other sewers and conveyance of sewage to treatment plants. In case of doubt the board of estimate shall decide whether a sewer is an intercepting sewer.
8. “Law”. Any provision of the constitution, enactments of the state legislature, the charter, the administrative code, any local law, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to any of the aforementioned.
9. “Maintenance”. Includes minor repairs, and in case of doubt the mayor or an officer designated by him shall decide whether a repair is a minor repair.
10. “Person”. A natural person, co-partnership, firm, company, association, joint stock association, corporation or other like organization.
11. “Real property”. Includes real estate, lands, tenements and hereditaments, corporeal or incorporeal.
12. “Statute”. Any enactment of the legislature of the state of New York.
13. “Street”. Any public street, avenue, road, alley, lane, highway, boulevard, concourse, parkway, driveway, culvert, sidewalk, crosswalk, boardwalk, viaduct, square or place, except marginal streets.
14. “The code”. The administrative code of the city.
15. “The port of New York”. Includes all the waters of the North River, the East River and the Harlem River and all the tidal waters embraced within or adjacent to or opposite to the shores of the city.
16. “Three-fourths vote and two-thirds vote”. When they apply to the board of estimate, shall mean, respectively, three-fourths and two-thirds of the total number of votes which all the members of the board are entitled to cast.
17. “Wharf property”. Wharves, piers, docks and bulkheads and structures thereon and slips and basins, the land beneath any of the foregoing, and all rights, privileges and easements appurtenant thereto and land under water in the port of New York, and such upland or made land adjacent thereto as was vested in the department of docks on January first, nineteen hundred thirty-eight or thereafter was or may be assigned to it or its successor agencies.
18. “Water front property”. Property fronting on all the tidal waters in the port and city of New York and extending inshore to the property line of the first adverse owner and shall include such land under water extending outshore to the pierhead line or the property line, whichever extends furthest outshore.
19. “Water front commerce”. The activity on water front property which encompasses the receipt of cargo or goods at the wharves, piers, docks or bulkheads from ships and their delivery to points inland or the receipt of such cargo or goods at such wharves, piers, docks or bulkheads from points inland for shipment by ships and shall include the temporary storage of such cargo or goods in the sheds or warehouses on such property pending their delivery or shipment.
20. “Furtherance of navigation”. The activity on water front property which involves ship building, ship repairing, boating, dry dock facilities and similar uses.
21. The term “domestic partner” shall mean persons who have a registered domestic partnership pursuant to section 3-240 of the administrative code, a domestic partnership registered in accordance with executive order number 123, dated August 7, 1989, or a domestic partnership registered in accordance with executive order number 48, dated January 7, 1993.
22. “Notice of violation”. An instrument charging a person or entity with violation of a local law or rule. “Notice of violation” shall be deemed to include a “civil summons”, “a summons for a civil violation” and a “notice of hearing”.

§ 1-113 Gender neutral language.

1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, all laws, documents and materials generated by the city shall be drafted in a gender-neutral manner and shall not include gender-biased terminology; including, but not limited to, the term “councilman” and “councilmanic.” To the extent consistent with the meaning of this law, masculine pronouns may be used together with feminine pronouns in reference to elected officials, commissioners and similar persons.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of this section, no law, document, or other material of the city shall be invalidated due to the inclusion of gender-biased terminology.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of this section, no agency of the city shall be required to dispose of any materials that were produced prior to the enactment of this section and which may include gender-biased terminology.
4. The provisions of subdivision a of this section shall in no way interfere with the ability of any agency of the city to collect gender-specific information, to the extent permitted by law, as necessary to carry out their responsibilities; including, but not limited to, maintaining personnel files, generating medical records, or creating police records.
5. The provisions of subdivision a of this section shall not apply to any law, document, or material that addresses a gender-specific matter; including, but not limited to, pregnancy or maternal health.