By: A state appeals court has ruled that the city may replace existing newsstands with nearly uniform, state-of-the-art kiosks, despite the objections of current owner-operators.
A coalition of newsstand vendors had asked the state Supreme Court?s Appellate Division to void the 2003 local law that allowed their newsstands to be replaced. The coalition argued that as many as 60 vendors would be forced to relocate.
But in a unanimous opinion in Uhlfelder v. Weinshall, the court upheld Local Law 64, rejecting arguments that the city violated vendors? First Amendment rights by turning over the newsstands to a franchisee and that the city violated applicable environmental and land-use review procedures.
The new kiosks are owned by a single franchisee, Cemusa, chosen by the city through competitive bidding to run New York?s ?coordinated street furniture franchise.? This includes public toilets, bus stop shelters and newsstands.
Cemusa will get revenues from advertising on the newsstands, with a portion of the money going to the city. The newsstand owners had objected to being forced to carry advertising that did not profit them.
Existing owners will be permitted to operate their businesses in the newly constructed newsstands at no new cost. They will be required to either remove their current stands, which they own, or allow them to be taken away. They will still pay a standard two-year licensee fee.
The appellate court said that as of August 2004, the city had 281 newsstands. The franchise agreement, which runs for 20 years, requires that Cemusa install and maintain a minimum of 330 newsstands.
The lawyer for the vendors, Andrew G. Celli, did not return a call for comment in time for this story.
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