N.Y. Public Service Law 227 – Termination of franchises
§ 227. Termination of franchises. 1. A franchise shall terminate at the expiration of its term or otherwise in accordance with the provisions thereof, unless, prior thereto, the commission otherwise orders. The commission may so order only if it finds, after public notice and opportunity for a hearing, that the franchisee:
Terms Used In N.Y. Public Service Law 227
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- Cable television company: shall mean any person owning, controlling, operating, managing or leasing one or more cable television systems within the state. See N.Y. Public Service Law 212
- Franchise: shall mean and include any authorization granted by a municipality in terms of a franchise, privilege, permit, license or other municipal authorization to construct, operate, maintain, or manage a cable television system in any municipality. See N.Y. Public Service Law 212
- Municipality: shall mean any village, town, city or county not wholly contained within a city in the state. See N.Y. Public Service Law 212
(a) has committed a material breach of its franchise or any applicable provision of this article or of the regulations promulgated hereunder and has failed, without reasonable justification, to cure said breach within sixty days after having received written notice thereof from the commission, or
(b) has been adjudicated a bankrupt or has filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy or reorganization or for an order protecting its assets from the claims of creditors and the commission finds that termination of the franchise or certificate of confirmation under such conditions is in the best interest of the public.
2. Upon termination of a franchise or certificate of confirmation, the cable television company shall dispose of its facilities in accordance with the provisions of the franchise or certificate. However, on motion of any interested party or upon its own motion, and after public notice and opportunity for hearing, if the commission finds that the continued presence of the facilities in any public thoroughfare would pose a nuisance to the municipality or its residents, the cable television company shall remove its facilities within such period as the commission shall order. In the absence of any applicable franchise or certificate provision or order by the commission to the contrary, the cable television company may abandon its facilities.