Maintenance of Public Pay Telephones.
67 RCNY § 6-05
in effect§ 6-05 Maintenance of Public Pay Telephones.
(a) Coinless 911 service. A public pay telephone shall provide twenty-four hour access to 911 service without use of a coin or other payment device. For purposes of this subdivision a violation of this requirement may be found where a public pay telephone lacks a dial tone, a clear and audible transmission and reception, a keyboard and handset in working order, or any other feature necessary to provide or obtain access to 911 service (such as, but not limited to, coinless access to an operator services provider).
(b) Telephone service.
(1) A public pay telephone shall be installed, operated and maintained in a condition to accept a coin, credit card, prepaid debit card or other appropriate payment device and the telephone must enable a call to be completed when the proper payment has been made;
(2) The return mechanism of a public pay telephone shall be in working order and provide customers with return of coins when calls are not completed;
(3) A public pay telephone shall provide access to operator service without use of a coin or other payment device.
(4) A public pay telephone that is incorporated into a structure that provides free wifi service must provide free domestic telephone service pursuant to the provider's franchise contract and remain in working order.
(c) Cleanliness. A public pay telephone installation shall be maintained in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision.
(1) A public pay telephone shall be maintained free of offensive odors, litter, debris and damage.
(2) A public pay telephone shall be maintained free of stickers and graffiti.
(3) A public pay telephone shall be maintained in a clean condition, free of grime and rust and clean to the touch.
(4) All lettering and signage on an installation shall be clean and legible at all times.
(5) All painted surfaces must be repainted at least once per year.
(d) Safety.
(1) A public pay telephone installation that has been displaced from its original installation configuration (e.g. motor vehicle collision) must be made safe within 24 hours of displacement and removed or restored to its original position within 72 hours of displacement.
(2) A public pay telephone installation, or any section or component thereof, that becomes broken in place, fractured or otherwise detached must be made safe within twenty-four hours and fully repaired within 72 hours.
(e) Enforcement.
(1) A notice of violation may be issued for a violation of a provision of subdivision (a) of this section when inspections on two occasions within a period no shorter than twenty-four hours have disclosed a violation of such provision.
(2) A notice of violation may be issued for violation of subdivision (b) of this section where inspections have disclosed that telephone service was unavailable on two occasions, each such occasion lasting for a duration of at least twenty-four (24) hours, within a period of ninety (90) calendar days. Each twenty-four hour period in which a failure to provide telephone service continues shall constitute a separate occasion on which an offense has occurred.
(3) A notice of violation for violation of a provision of subdivision (c) of this section may be issued where inspections disclose violation of such subdivision continuing at least forty-eight (48) hours on two separate occasions within a period of ninety (90) calendar days or a violation lasting at least seventy-two (72) hours on one occasion.
(4) A notice of violation for a violation of a provision of subdivision (d) of this section may be issued where two inspections at least seventy-two (72) hours apart disclose that a displaced public pay telephone has not been restored to its original position or that an installation or portion of an installation has been broken in place, fractured, detached or is otherwise unsafe and has not been repaired or made safe.
(5) A violation shall be considered to have continued throughout a period specified in this subdivision when a condition set forth in subdivisions (a), (b), (c) or (d) of this section has been identified upon at least two inspections that encompass such period within one hundred sixty-eight (168) hours; provided that, demonstration by an owner that the condition underlying such violation was corrected within such period shall be a defense to an action pursuant to 67 RCNY § 6-05.
(f) Damage to streets. An owner of a public pay telephone installation shall be responsible for all repairs to streets damaged due to the placement, installation, maintenance or removal of such public pay telephone installation.
(Amended City Record 7/9/2015, eff. 8/8/2015)
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/0-0-0-93912Fetched: 10/24/2026