DCA Licensing Center 42 Broadway, 5th Floor New York, NY
10004 For more information, call 311.
By City law, newsstands are stands or booths that are not readily removable,
located on the public sidewalk, operating primarily for the sale of newspapers
and periodicals. This description is only a general explanation of which
businesses need to have a Newsstand license.
Note: New York City businesses must comply with all relevant
federal, state, and City laws and rules. All laws and rules of the City of New
York, including the Consumer Protection Law and Rules, are accessible using the
Public Access Portal. For convenience,
sections of the New York City Licensing Law (and Rules, if enacted) are
available as a downloadable
handout. The Law (and Rules) are current as of January 2009.
Please note that businesses are responsible for knowing and complying with
the most current laws, including any City Council amendments. The Department of
Consumer Affairs (DCA) is not responsible for errors or omissions in the
handout. The information is not legal advice. You can only obtain legal advice
from a lawyer.
All requirements summed up below must be submitted when filing your
application. Applications must be filed in person at the DCA Licensing
Center, 42 Broadway, 5th floor, in Manhattan between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and on Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30
p.m. To speed processing, please submit documents in the order listed
below.
No licensee may operate more than two newsstands at any given
time. If you already possess two newsstand licenses, you may not apply
for another. Current licensees with one newsstand license may in no instance
have more than three pending applications at any given time. New applicants may
in no instance have more than two pending applications at any given time. Refer
to the Rules of the City of New York §2-64(a)(1).
OVERVIEW OF NEWSSTAND APPROVAL PROCESS:
Community Board Recommendation of Approval/Disapproval.
The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) will send a copy of your application
to the appropriate Community Board, which will forward its recommendation to
DCA within 60 calendar days. DCA will then forward the recommendation to DOT,
and subsequently to the Design Commission if DOT approval is
obtained.
Department of Transportation Approval/Disapproval. DCA
will send a copy of your site plans, photographs, and a copy of the building
owner notification to DOT. (Incomplete, inaccurate, or illegible site plans
and/or drawings will be rejected.) DOT will review the proposed stand location
for compliance with public safety regulations.
Design Commission Approval/Disapproval. The Design
Commission reviews the proposed newsstand’s aesthetic appropriateness and
visual compatibility with the surrounding area.
Landmarks Preservation Commission Approval/Disapproval.
If the proposed newsstand site is located in an area under the Landmarks
Preservation Commission’s jurisdiction, the applicant will be required to
apply directly to, and get approval from, the Landmarks Preservation
Commission rather than the Design Commission.
Stand Construction. If the proposed newsstand is approved
by the Design Commission (or the Landmarks Preservation Commission, if
applicable), the Commission will send its approval to DCA. DCA will notify
both the applicant and DOT about the Commission’s approval. DOT will contact
the applicant to confirm the cost of constructing the newsstand and to provide
the contact person at Cemusa with whom to arrange payment. Cemusa is the
City’s vendor. Once Cemusa provides DCA and DOT with satisfactory proof of
payment for construction costs, DOT will coordinate construction of the
applicant’s newsstand with Cemusa.
The cost of a Cemusa newsstand
in 2008 is $27,733; the cost will increase each year based on the Consumer
Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). For the most up-to-date cost
information, please call 311 and asked to be transferred to DCA with a
question about the newsstand license.
ITEMS TO BE SUBMITTED AT THE TIME OF INITIAL
APPLICATION:
Proof of Notification of building owner. Within 30 days before the
application is filed, the applicant is required to provide the owner on
record, or owner’s agent of the building or lot directly adjacent to the site
of the proposed newsstand, with notice that a newsstand application will be
submitted within 30 days to the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Such
notice must be made by Certified Mail. The notice shall specify the dimensions
of the proposed stand and the distance and direction it will be located from
the closest intersection. Proof (Certified Mail receipt with an affidavit)
that such notice was given must be submitted at the time the completed
application is submitted to DCA. Building owner information can be obtained by
visiting the Office of the City Register in the borough where the proposed
newsstand is to be erected.
City Register Borough
Offices: Manhattan: 66 John Street, 13th
Floor Bronx: 1932 Arthur Avenue, Room
201 Brooklyn: Municipal Building, 210 Joralemon
Street, Room 2 Queens: 144-06 94th Avenue,
Jamaica Staten Island: County Court House, 18
Richmond Terrace, Room 103
Each Office of the City Register has a copy of the Real Estate Directory
for that particular borough. To obtain owner information, look up the address
of the building. You will find the name, address, and telephone number of the
building owner listed next to the address.
For stands within three feet of private property only:
An affidavit from the adjacent property owner granting permission for the
newsstand to be located within three feet of their property.
License Fee must be paid by check or money order, payable to NYC
Department of Consumer Affairs. The license fee for two years is
$1,076.00. You will be required to pay a processing fee of $269.00 when the
application is filed. If the application is approved, DCA will notify the
licensee, and the balance remaining for the present license term must be paid
for the license documents to be issued (a maximum of
$807.00).
*ATTENTION NEW LICENSE APPLICANT: You can
complete the Basic License Application online using a
fillable PDF file, then print a bar-coded form for scanning into our system
once you arrive at the Licensing Center.Learn more
Granting Authority to Act Form (download) If this
application will be filed by someone other than the license applicant, the
person filing the application must submit a Granting Authority to Act
Form.
Affidavit of Principal Employment (download). The law requires that
the newsstand be the licensee's principal employment.
Six copies of site plans (1/4” = 1’ scale). The site
plans must indicate the dimensions of the proposed newsstand and the distance
from each listed obstruction (streets, sidewalks, sidewalk furniture, property
lines, crosswalks, buildings and building entrances, subway entrances, grates,
hydrants, traffic control devices, light poles, sign posts, public phones,
garbage receptacles, mailboxes, parking meters, manhole covers, trees, etc.)
within 25’ of either side of the proposed newsstand location. Site plans do
not have to be drawn by an architect; you may draw them yourself provided that
the plans are accurate and drawn to scale. The site plans should be no larger
than 11” x 17”.
Eight 5” x 7” color photographs of proposed location (two
of each side, two of front, two of back, and two frontal shots taken from
across the street). All photographs should clearly show the area surrounding
the proposed newsstand location. The location of the stand must be identified
with an X on all photographs
submitted.NOTE: POLAROID PHOTOGRAPHS WILL NOT BE
ACCEPTED.
Items to be submitted to the Design Commission:
Note: The Design Commission
reviews the aesthetic impact of the location of sidewalk newsstands. Newsstands
are submitted to the Design Commission by the Department of Consumer Affairs,
but the Department of Transportation must approve the newsstand location prior
to the Design Commission review.
Preliminary and Final Review
Duplicate set of application forms signed by the appropriate agency head
or designated agency representative, including the name and address of the
private entity proposing the newsstand. The application form should indicate
the address of the building in front of which the newsstand will be
installed.
A minimum of eight (8) loose 8” x 10" color photographs of the site and
surrounding area for the proposed newsstand taken during daylight hours. These
photographs must show the general streetscape as well as views from across the
street indicating the facades of the buildings in front of the proposed
newsstand site. All photos must be clearly labeled on the back. Polaroids
or color photocopies will not be accepted. If using a digital camera,
photographs must be printed on photo-quality paper.
A photomontage showing the proposed newsstand in the context of the
existing site. See Note about Drawings below.
A location plan (minimum scale: neighborhood and borough), indicating
where the newsstand is within the surrounding neighborhood and within the
borough. See Note about Drawings below.
A detailed site plan (minimum scale: 1" = 40'), showing the location and
nature of adjacent buildings, including details of setback from major
entrances, dimensions, and street furniture. (See Note about Drawings
below. ) The plan is to show both sides of the street, one block in
each direction from the proposed site.
Note about
Drawings: Drawings must be submitted in the following formats:
Two complete sets of unmounted drawings, properly collated and stapled,
must be submitted. All drawings must indicate scale. Plans must include a
North arrow, and elevations must indicate facade orientation. Half-size
drawings are preferable as long as they are legible. Any reduced drawings must
indicate graphic scale.
Critical drawings, including renderings, must be mounted on one (1) or
more 30" x 40" boards for presentation and/or included in a PowerPoint
presentation. (Refer to Presentation Guidelines, which are available at
www.nyc.gov/designcommission.) All PowerPoint presentations must utilize .jpg
images only that have been resized before being inserted into the
presentation, so the completed presentation is limited to 30MB. Additionally,
PowerPoint presentations must be formatted for WindowsXP or an earlier version
with no automatic slide advances, and submitted on a CD and as duplicate
printouts, properly collated and stapled.
PDFs of drawings submitted at the conceptual and preliminary level of
review must also be provided on a disc.
Final Approval is conditioned upon commencement of work within two years
of the final approval date and the submission of three (3) 8" x 10" color
archival quality photographs of the completed project for the Design
Commission's archive of the City's built environment.
Requirements after Design Commission Approval:
Sales Tax Identification Number. This is the 9-digit
number on your New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Certificate
of Authority. You must enter this number on the Basic License Application
form. Applications for a Sales Tax Identification Number are available at the
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance office at 55 Hanson Place,
Brooklyn, NY 11217 or call (800) 462-8100. In addition to the tax form, you
can ask for publication 750 (A Guide to Sales Tax in New York State). Allow
four to six weeks after applying to the New York State Department of Taxation
and Finance to receive your Certificate of Authority.
Once construction of the newsstand has been completed, you must
send written notification along with five (5) 8” x 10”
black-and-white photographs (one photo of each side) of the completed
structure. DCA will send the photographs to the Design Commission for its
final approval.
Newsstand Size and Clearance Requirements:
The law requires that a newsstand occupy no more than 72 square feet and not
exceed 9 feet in height. This does not include newsstands in close proximity to
subway entrances and exits for which special size limitations apply.
For the construction of new Cemusa newsstands there are nine (9) stand sizes
available, including widths of 4, 5, and 6 feet and lengths of 8, 10, and 12
feet. You may apply for the largest stand which fits into your proposed site and
complies with all applicable site criteria.
The following is a summary of the required minimum clearances from sidewalk
obstructions, as inspected by the Department of Transportation, to use when
drawing site plans. (For complete details, see the Rules of the City of New York
§2-65.)
Access Plates
2’
Building Vaults
2’
Bus Shelters
20’
Cellar Doors
2’
Curbs
1’6”
Curb Cuts
15’
Elevator Lobby of a Building
15’
Entrances to Houses of Worship
15’
Fire Hydrants
10’
Governmental Buildings
15’
Information Kiosks
15’
Litter Baskets/Mailboxes
2’
Manholes
2’
Newsstands
15’
Parking Meters
2’
Property lines extended at intersection of two streets
10’
Service or Freight Entrances
10’
Siamese Connections
15’
Sidewalk Cafés
20’
Standpipes
15’
Street Lights
3’
Street Signs
2’
Subway Entrances/Exits
20’
Telephones
2’
Traffic Signal Poles
3’
Transformer Vaults
2’
Tree Pit
5'
The trunk of any tree (in any direction) or canopy
5’
Ventilation or Other Grills
2’
All Other Retail Entrances and Building Entrances
5’
Newsstands may not be placed under fire escapes, in taxi stands, or bus
stops, and may not be placed within the frontage of any building having more
than three floors of retail use.
Newsstands may not be located in areas where they interfere with the free
passage of pedestrians. DOT will measure sidewalk congestion (or pedestrian
level of service) to determine if a proposed location meets public safety
standards.
