Removal, Storage and Disposal of Street Encumbrances.
16 RCNY § 1-05
in effect§ 1-05 Removal, Storage and Disposal of Street Encumbrances.
(a) The Commissioner, upon receiving the consent and approval of the Board of Estimate or its successor agency, may lease a suitable yard, yards, warehouses or other suitable enclosures to which any vehicle, box, barrel, bale of merchandise or other movable property removed under the authority of these Regulations shall be taken, and from time to time, he shall sell, or cause to be sold thereat, such vehicles, boxes, barrels, bales of merchandise or other movable property, as hereinafter provided.
(b) Whenever the Commissioner shall receive any vehicle bearing a motor vehicle license plate, he shall request from the public office or agency which issued such plate, the name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle with respect to which such plate was issued. The Commissioner, upon receipt of the name and address of the registered owner of any such vehicle, shall notify such registered owner by ordinary mail that such vehicle is held by the Commissioner. Upon receipt of any other movable property bearing a legible inscription or other identifying device setting forth the name and address of the owner or person lawfully entitled to possession thereof, or where the property is otherwise identifiable, the Commissioner shall notify such owner or person by ordinary mail that such movable property is held by the Commissioner. In any notification, given pursuant to these Regulations, the Commissioner shall include a brief description of such vehicle or movable property, the date of removal, the office at which to apply for redemption, and a statement of the right to sell, dismantle, destroy or otherwise dispose of the vehicle or property if, within twenty days after the removal of a vehicle and within 30 days after removal of any other property, a lawful claim thereto is not established in the manner provided by 16 RCNY § 1-05(c) below. Any notification required to be given by the provisions of this section shall be mailed prior to the first publication of the notice of sale provided for by 16 RCNY § 1-05(d).
(c) At such times as the Commissioner shall determine, he shall sell or cause to be sold at public auction for the best price which he can obtain therefor, any such vehicle or movable property which shall remain in his custody for a period of 30 days; as to any other property, after the date of removal and with respect to which no claimant has presented to the Commissioner prior to the expiration of such 20 or 30 day periods, respectively, proof establishing to the Commissioner's satisfaction such claimants ownership of or lawful right to possess such vehicle or property.
(d) Before making any such sale, the Commissioner shall give public notice thereof in the City Record for a period of 10 days. Such notice shall specify the time and place of such sale and shall contain a general description of the property to be sold, but no particular description of any article need be included therein.
(e) Whenever any vehicle or movable property shall remain unsold at public auction, the Commissioner, in his discretion, may re-offer such vehicle or property for sale at a subsequent public auction held pursuant to these Regulations or he may, without public notice, dismantle, destroy or otherwise dispose of such vehicle or property or any component thereof, without liability on the part of the City to the owner of or other person lawfully entitled to the possession of such vehicle or property, or to any other person having an interest therein.
(f) Any sale conducted pursuant to these Regulations shall be made at the time and place specified in such notice of sale by the Commissioner and shall be conducted by the Commissioner, or by any officer or employee of the Department designated by him, or by an auctioneer designated for such sale by the Commissioner.
(g) Immediately after the sale, the Commissioner shall pay the proceeds thereof to the Director of Finance and shall, at the same time, transmit to the Comptroller an itemized statement of the articles sold, with the price received for each article or lot, and a certificate of the costs and expenses incurred by him in making such sale. The Comptroller shall credit the General Fund with so much of the proceeds as equal the costs and expenses of such sale plus such an amount as may be estimated and fixed by the Commissioner as necessary to pay the cost of seizing, removing, and keeping or storing such property. The remainder of the monies realized from such sale shall be paid, without interest, to the lawful owners of the several articles or lots sold.
(h) Any payment to a person apparently entitled thereto, under the provision of these Regulations, shall be a good defense to the City against any other person claiming to be entitled to such payment, but if the person to whom such payment is made is not in fact entitled thereto, the person or persons to whom the same ought to have been paid shall recover the same, with interest and costs of suit, from the person or persons to whom the same shall have been paid.
(i) The owner or other person lawfully entitled to possession of any vehicle, box, barrel, bale of merchandise or other movable property removed from any public street and/or received by the Commissioner under the provision of these Regulations, may redeem such property at any time after such property is received by the Commissioner and prior to the sale, dismantling, destruction or disposal of such property pursuant to the provisions of these Regulations, upon presentation to the Commissioner of proof establishing to the Commissioner's satisfaction that such person seeking to redeem the same is its owner or lawfully entitled to possession thereof, and upon payment to the Commissioner of such sum as he may fix as necessary to pay the cost of seizing, removing and keeping or storing such property. The storage fee to be charged for storage of encumbrances from evictions shall be $2.50/day and the storage fee for containers seized as street encumbrances shall be $16.50/day. The Commissioner shall issue a Redemption Order to any person lawfully entitled to redeem property as provided under these Regulations. The Redemption Order shall include a notice that the property must be removed within 48 hours after the date of issuance of the Redemption Order, and if not removed the property will be subject to storage charges and subsequently sold at public auction. If a person does not remove the property within 10 days after the date of issuance of a Redemption Order, the Commissioner shall notify such person by ordinary mail of the date of the next scheduled public auction and that the property will be sold at public auction on such date if it is not removed. The Commissioner shall provide notice of such public auction in the City Record as set forth in 16 RCNY § 1-05(d) of these Regulations. After providing such notice by mail and publication, the Commissioner may sell or cause to be sold at public auction any property in his custody for which a Redemption Order has been issued by which property has not been removed. When such property remains unsold after a public auction the property may be disposed of in accordance with 16 RCNY § 1-05(e) of these Regulations.
(j) The procedures outlined in the preceding subdivisions of this section shall not apply to worthless, derelict, abandoned vehicles reported to the Department of Sanitation by the Police Department and other such unidentifiable property found on the streets. The Commissioner or his duly authorized representative is hereby empowered to declare any such derelict property as worthless and valueless and, in accordance with the procedures set forth in 16 RCNY § 1-05.2, is authorized to dispose of such property at Department of Sanitation disposal points or, in their discretion, to have such derelict vehicles and other worthless property removed and disposed of by private contractors.
(Amended City Record 1/23/2026, eff. 3/16/2026)
Appendix A:
Guidelines for Classification of Derelict Vehicles by Sanitation Department Employees
(i) Definitions:
(A) Body damage shall mean a dented or crushed section 12 inches or more in length of any part of the vehicle.
(B) Deteriorated or dilapidated shall mean that the vehicle has any of the following: body rust, minor body damage, any interior damage or engine parts missing.
(C) Minor body damage shall mean a dent or crushed section less than 12 inches in length.
(D) Seriously burned shall mean one of the following: 75% of the interior of the vehicle is burned, 75% of the exterior is burned or the engine is burned.
(ii) The following criteria shall be used to determine whether an unoccupied or apparently abandoned vehicle should be classified as derelict.
(A) Any vehicle that has been seriously burned.
(B) Any vehicle without identification number (VIN), which has sustained damage or loss in four or more of the categories listed in subparagraph (iii) below.
(C) Any vehicle five (5) years old or newer vehicle, which has sustained damage or loss in four or more of the categories listed in subparagraph (iii) below.
(D) Any vehicle six (6) or seven (7) years old which has sustained damage in three or more of the categories listed in subparagraph (iii) below.
(E) Any vehicle eight (8) years or older which has sustained damage in one or more of the categories listed in subparagraph (iii) below, except that this definition shall not apply to the following luxury vehicles: Rolls Royce, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Lexus.
(iii) The following categories shall be used in determining whether a vehicle is a derelict:
(A) Nose missing, which shall require that at least 3 of the 4 following parts be missing: (hood, grill, front bumper, one (1) front fender).
(B) Door(s) and hood missing or damaged.
(C) Front end damage.
(D) Rear end damage.
(E) Any interior damage and glass damage.
(F) Door(s) and trunk lid missing or damaged.
(G) Engine or transmission missing.
(H) Damage to right or left side.
(I) Fire damage, other than seriously burned.
(J) Any vehicle eight (8) years or older that is deteriorated, or dilapidated.
(iv) The absence of any or all wheels shall not be considered as the sole basis for classifying a vehicle as derelict.
(v) The age of the vehicle will be determined by subtracting the model year from the current year.
(vi) The presence of glass damage shall not be considered as the sole basis for classifying a vehicle as derelict.
(vii) An unoccupied or apparently abandoned vehicle that does not satisfy the derelict vehicle criteria listed in subparagraph (ii) above shall be referred to the N.Y.P.D. Rotation Tow Program. Any vehicle with license plates affixed regardless of condition shall also be referred to the N.Y.P.D. Rotation Tow Program and shall not be classified as a derelict vehicle.
(viii) Special handling instructions for vehicles referred to the Department by another city agency for disposal as a derelict vehicle. Any luxury vehicle listed in item (E) of subparagraph (ii) above that is eight years old or older, has sustained damage in only one of the categories listed in subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (2) of this subdivision and has been referred to the Department by another city agency for disposal as a derelict vehicle shall be removed in accordance with the special handling instructions of the Director of the Derelict Vehicle Office.
(ix) Nothing in these Regulations contained shall be deemed to authorize the summary removal of materials for any public work or improvement in course of construction.
(x) The provisions of these Regulations shall not apply to any lost or abandoned vehicle, box, barrel, bale of merchandise or other moveable property which shall be removed from the street and which may come into the possession or custody of the Police Department or which is in or may be given into the custody of the Property Clerk of such Department.
Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-31011Fetched: 10/24/2026