§ 397-a. Distributing unsolicited advertising on private property prohibited; certain cities. 1. In any city with a population of one million or more, no person shall place, or cause or permit to be placed on private property any unsolicited papers, fliers, pamphlets, handbills, circulars, or other materials advertising a business or soliciting business where the owner has posted, in a conspicuous location, a sign stating that the placement of such materials shall be prohibited. In a single family dwelling or a multiple family dwelling that is owner-occupied and is designed for and occupied exclusively by no more than three families, any owner of such property shall have the authority to post such a sign. In all other multiple dwellings as defined in § 4 of the multiple dwelling law, the property owner shall only post such a sign if the owner or lessee of each separate dwelling unit within the building or on such property agrees to prohibit such solicitations, and any sign posted without the consent of at least one unit owner or lessee of each such unit shall be invalid. In the event that there are one or more units in which the unit owner or lessee consents to the prohibition of such unsolicited advertising, the property owner may instead post a sign designating a particular location or an appropriate receptacle for the placement of such unsolicited advertising, and limiting the number of such materials that may be delivered to the property to an amount equal to the number of units in which a unit owner or lessee has not consented to the prohibition. Any such delivery location or receptacle shall be reasonably accessible to such unit owners or lessees and to the distributors of such unsolicited materials. When such a sign is posted, a person may only leave an amount of unsolicited advertising materials that is equal to the number of unit owners or lessees indicated on the sign, and such materials shall be left in the location designated on the sign. Nothing contained in this subdivision shall be deemed to prohibit or otherwise regulate the delivery of any such matter by the United States postal service, or prohibit the distribution of sample copies of newspapers regularly sold by the copy or by annual subscription or sale or coupon newspapers and magazines containing more than a deminimus amount of news that are published at least weekly.

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2. To be valid and enforceable, any sign prohibiting the delivery of such unsolicited materials shall be at least five inches tall and seven inches wide in size and shall state, in legible letters at least one inch in size, as follows: "Do Not Place Unsolicited Advertising Materials On This Property." In a multiple dwelling in which some unit owners or lessees have consented to the prohibition of such unsolicited materials, the property owner may post, in a conspicuous location, a sign that is at least five inches tall and seven inches wide in size and written in legible letters at least one inch in size, identifying the number of unit owners or lessees who wish to receive unsolicited materials and the location where such materials shall be placed.

3. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the person whose name, telephone number, or other identifying information appears on any unsolicited advertising materials described in subdivision one of this section and placed at two or more premises shall be liable for any violations of this section.

4. The provisions of this section may be enforced by an agency or agencies, as designated by the mayor of such city. A civil penalty of not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars shall be imposed for each violation of this section, but in no event shall the total amount of such penalty exceed the sum of five thousand dollars for the placement of materials on a single day. Each unauthorized placement of materials at a single location where a sign is posted as described in subdivision one of this section shall be considered a separate violation of this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any notice of violation issued by an agency or agencies, as designated by the mayor of such city, charging a violation of this section shall be returnable to the environmental control board of such city, which shall have the power to impose the civil penalties herein provided; provided, however, that service of a notice of violation charging a violation of this section may be made by (a) a means prescribed for service of process by Article 3 of the civil practice law and rules or Article 3 of the business corporation law, or (b) by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the respondent's last known residence or business address, provided that delivery of such notice shall be restricted to the respondent. Service by certified mail shall be deemed complete upon mailing of the notice of violation unless the notice of violation is returned to the sender by the United States postal service for any reasons other than refusal of delivery. All civil penalties collected for any violations of subdivision one of this section that have been imposed by the environmental control board of such city shall be paid into the general fund of such city.

5. The agency or agencies of such city as designated by subdivision four of this section shall be authorized to promulgate rules implementing the provisions of this section.