Chapter 37 - ART COMMISSION

Section 851.

Section 851.

  §  851.  Constitution  and  appointment.  a.  There  shall  be  an art
commission the members of which shall be the mayor, who  may  appoint  a
person to represent him and replace such representative at his pleasure,
the  president  of  the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the president of the
New York Public Library  (Astor,  Lenox  and  Tilden  foundations),  the
president  of  the  Brooklyn  Museum,  one  painter,  one  sculptor, one
architect, and one landscape architect, all of whom shall  be  residents
of  the city, and three other residents of the city no one of whom shall
be a painter, sculptor, architect, landscape architect or active  member
of any other profession in the fine arts.
  b.  All the members of the commission shall serve without compensation
for their service on the commission.  Those  whose  service  is  not  ex
officio  shall  be  appointed  by the mayor from a list of not less than
three times the number to be appointed, such list to be submitted by the
Fine Arts Federation of New York. In case the Fine Arts Federation shall
fail to present a list of nominees within three  months  from  the  time
when  a vacancy occurs, the mayor shall appoint without such nomination.
In case the mayor shall fail to appoint within one year  from  the  time
when  a  vacancy  occurs, such vacancy shall be filled by the commission
for any balance of the unexpired term.
  c. In all matters which come before the commission pertaining to  work
under  the  special charge of an agency, the head of such agency may act
as a member of the commission. Each president of an institution  who  is
an ex officio member may, by a writing filed with the executive director
of  the  commission, appoint a trustee of the institution of which he is
president to serve in his  place  as  member  of  the  commission.  Such
appointment  shall  be revocable at any time by such president and shall
terminate whenever he ceases to be president.

Section 852.

Section 852.

  § 852. Terms of members; vacancies. All appointments of members of the
commission  whose service is not ex officio shall be for a term of three
years  commencing  at  the  expiration  of  the  terms  of  the  present
incumbents,  except that appointments to fill vacancies shall be for the
unexpired term. All vacancies shall be filled  in  accordance  with  the
provisions of section eight hundred fifty-one.

Section 853.

Section 853.

  § 853. Officers; procedures; expenses. a. The commission shall elect a
president,  vice-president  and  secretary  from  its own members, whose
terms of office shall be for one year and  until  their  successors  are
elected  and  have  qualified.  The commission shall keep minutes of its
proceedings and adopt its own rules of procedure, which shall be  public
documents.   Six   commissioners,   excluding  any  who  may  be  acting
temporarily as representatives of an agency pursuant to subdivision c of
section eight hundred fifty-one, shall constitute a quorum.
  b. The offices and staff necessary for the commission to  fulfill  its
obligations  shall be provided for the commission, and the amount of its
necessary expenses shall annually be provided in the budget.

Section 854.

Section 854.

  §  854.  Approvals  by the commission.   a. The term "works of art" as
used in  this  chapter  shall  apply  to  and  include  all  sculptures,
paintings,  mural decorations, mosaics, stained glass, statues, carvings
or  castings  in  high  or  low  relief,  inscriptions,  monuments,  and
fountains  installed  or  erected  or to be installed or erected upon or
over land belonging to the city whether the works of art be the property
of the  city  itself  or  of  an  institution,  corporation  or  private
individual,  and  whether intended for ornament, commemoration or actual
use.
  b. The term "structure" as used in this chapter  shall  apply  to  and
include all buildings, walks, bridges and viaducts and their approaches,
exterior  walls,  arches,  docks,  piers, gates, fences, steps, curbing,
distinctive pavings, benches, lamps, posts, traffic signals, and signage
other than  signage  guiding,  directing  or  otherwise  regulating  and
controlling  traffic  erected  pursuant  to  chapter  seventy-one of the
charter.
  c. On request or on its own initiative, the art commission may consult
with and advise any such agency as to  the  suitability  of  preliminary
plans  for  any  work  of art under consideration for acquisition or the
design  or  location  of  any  work  of  art  or  any  structure   under
consideration  for  installation or erection in, on or over any property
of the city.
  d. No work of art shall hereafter become the property of the  city  by
gift  or  otherwise,  or  be  purchased,  commissioned,  contracted for,
accepted, erected or placed in or upon any public building,  or  allowed
to  be  placed  on  or  extend  into  or over any public street, avenue,
highway, square, park, dock or pier or other public place  belonging  to
the  city,  unless such work of art or a design of the same, accompanied
by a specification and an estimate of the cost thereof, a  plan  showing
its  proposed  location,  and,  if  the commission deems it necessary or
desirable, also a model, and any other pertinent information as  may  be
required  by  the  commission  including  a  plan  in such detail as the
commission may require for  the  maintenance  or  conservation  thereof,
shall  first  have been submitted to the commission by the agency having
jurisdiction, and such work of art or the design thereof, its  location,
and  the  plan  for  its  maintenance  or  conservation, shall have been
approved in  writing  by  the  commission.  The  commission  shall  have
authority  to bar final payment for the purchase or erection of any such
work of art if the president or executive  director  of  the  commission
certifies  that  the work of art has not been completed substantially in
accordance with the approval of the commission.
  e. No structure, except as provided in subdivision f or  h,  shall  be
erected  or placed upon land belonging to the city, and no arch, bridge,
structure or approach which  is  the  property  of  any  corporation  or
private  individual  shall  extend  over  or  upon  any  street, avenue,
highway, park or public place belonging to the city, and no  new  lines,
grades  or  plotting  or  layout  of  public  ways  and grounds shall be
accepted or work  in  pursuance  thereof  commenced  unless  the  design
thereof,  accompanied  by  an  estimate  of  cost and a plan showing the
proposed location, shall have been submitted to the commission  and  the
design, and in the case of a building or other structure its location in
relation  to  existing  or projected developments in the vicinity, shall
have been approved in writing by it. If exterior  wall,  fences,  gates,
steps,  curbing,  distinctive  paving,  benches,  lamps, posts, signage,
traffic signals or other structures of the  same  type  and  design  are
considered  for  installation  at  various locations, the commission may
approve the type and design with  specifications  as  to  the  types  of
location for which they would be approved as suitable without passing on

each  individual  installation.   In addition, replacements-in-kind need
not be approved by the  commission.    The  commission  shall  have  the
authority  to  bar  final payment for such structure, or for such lines,
grades or plotting or layout of public ways and grounds if the president
or  executive director of the commission certifies that the work has not
been erected or placed substantially in accordance with the approval  of
the commission.
  f.  In  the  case of any building or other structure that is part of a
construction or other project, where the total estimated  cost  of  such
project  shall  not  exceed  one  million  dollars,  the approval of the
commission pursuant to this section shall not be required if  the  mayor
or  the  council  shall  in  writing  request the commission not to act.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as  intended  to  impair  the
concurrent  power  of the commissioner of parks and recreation to refuse
his or her consent to the erection or acceptance of any public  monument
or  memorial  or other work of any sort within any park, square or other
public place under his jurisdiction.
  g. Designs for all works of art or structures intended  for  temporary
use  in a fixed location during a period of more than one year, shall be
subject to the same forms of procedure as those  adopted  for  permanent
use;  but  the  approval  of  such  designs  shall be for a period to be
determined by the commission, not to exceed three years, after which the
commission shall either extend the period or order the  removal  of  the
work of art or structure.
  h.  Notwithstanding  any inconsistent provision of this chapter, if an
approval of a structure  pursuant  to  subdivision  e  of  this  section
primarily  concerns  a  landmark,  landmark  site, landmark interior, an
existing building within a scenic  landmark,  or  an  action  within  an
historic  district,  and  also requires a report or determination by the
landmarks preservation commission pursuant to  chapter  three  of  title
twenty-five of the administrative code of the city of New York, then, in
that  event, the powers and duties of the art commission with respect to
such structures pursuant to such subdivision e and subdivisions f and  g
of this section shall instead be exercised by the landmarks preservation
commission  pursuant to its own rules and procedures. If such commission
shall fail to take action upon any matter legally submitted to it within
sixty  days  after  such  submission,  its  action   shall   be   deemed
unnecessary.    Any  action  taken  by  such commission pursuant to this
subdivision shall be filed with the art commission.

Section 855.

Section 855.

  § 855. Time for decision limited. If the commission shall fail to take
action  upon  any matter legally submitted to it within sixty days after
such submission, its action shall be deemed unnecessary.

Section 856.

Section 856.

  § 856. Maintenance, repair, removal, relocation or alteration of works
of  art.  a.  The commission shall periodically examine all works of art
belonging  to  the  city,  shall  make,  request  or  approve   detailed
recommendations  for  their  cleaning, maintenance and repair, and shall
have general and curatorial supervision over such works of art belonging
to the city and their cleaning,  maintenance  and  repair.    Except  as
provided in subdivision d, no cleaning, restoration, repair, alteration,
removal  or  relocation  of  any  work  of  art shall be contracted for,
commenced, or prosecuted, unless approved in writing by the  commission.
Except  as  provided  in  subdivision  d,  the commission shall have the
authority to bar final payment for such work if  the  president  or  the
executive  director  of  the  commission certifies that the work has not
been  completed  substantially  in  accordance  with  the   commission's
approval.
  b.  If  a  city  agency fails to expend funds allocated for the proper
maintenance of works of art, or  allows  undue  deterioration  to  occur
which  threatens  the visual and structural integrity of any work of art
under its jurisdiction, the commission shall be authorized to review the
procedures governing the care of said work and may request the agency to
relocate such work to a suitable location approved by the commission.
  c. Before any work of art is repaired, altered,  demolished,  removed,
or  relocated,  the  art  commission  shall  be  notified  and  given an
opportunity, not to exceed sixty days, to pass  on  the  disposition  of
such  work  of  art.  The commission may, with the consent of the mayor,
order the  work  of  art  to  be  preserved.    Except  as  provided  in
subdivision  d,  no work of art shall be altered, demolished, removed or
relocated without the written approval of the commission.
  d. In case the immediate removal, repair or relocation of any existing
work of art shall be deemed necessary by the mayor, he may  require  the
commission  to pass on its disposition within an emergency period, which
shall be not less than three business days after the receipt of  written
notice  from him. In case of the commission's failure to act within such
period, he may authorize the removal, repair or relocation without  such
action.

Section 857.

Section 857.

  § 857. Advisory oversight of works of art. a. The art commission shall
have  general  advisory oversight over all works of art belonging to the
city.  It shall advise the agencies having jurisdiction over them as  to
methods and procedures for their proper maintenance.
  b.  The  commission shall maintain and make available for inspection a
register of (i) works of art in the city's collection  which  have  been
preserved  and  (ii)  works  of  art  in the city's collection which are
available, as determined by either the agency or the commission,  for  a
new  use  or  relocation. Every agency shall maintain a list of works of
art installed in or erected upon city property assigned for use  by  the
agency  and  shall  notify the commission whenever a work of art becomes
available, in its judgment, for a new use or relocation.

Section 858.

Section 858.

  §  858.  Notice  of  agenda.  A printed calendar of items to be heard,
which may be subject to later amendment, shall be made available to  the
public  and  forwarded  to members of the council at least three days in
advance of the meeting.