N.Y. Lawmakers Move To Outlaw Floating Billboards
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - After a bitter battle on the waterways, New York state lawmakers have voted to officially outlaw floating billboards.
A bill passed in the state legislature prohibits companies from operating boats with digital billboards or other billboards that use flashing, intermittent or moving lights.
"Billboards belong in Times Square, not in the middle of the Hudson and East Rivers or the Erie Canal. These floating billboards are a dangerous distraction to boaters and drivers, not to mention an eyesore," St. Sen. Brad Hoylman and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, the bill's sponsors, said in a release. "Whether you're sailing on the Hudson or relaxing in a park along the water, you don't want to see a flashing billboard advertisement. New Yorkers already see way too much advertising in their daily lives. They don't need to see it on our waterways."
In addition to banning digital billboards or others with flashing or moving lights, other advertising signage would be prohibited on boats within 1,500 feet from shore.
Violators would be charged $1,000 for the first violation and $5,000 for each subsequent violation.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo still has to sign the bill into the law.
Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration previously sued Ballyhoo Media, a floating media company that operates in the Hudson River.
The mayor claimed that Ballyhoo's signage violated the city's zoning laws and created a public nuisance.