There are two local New York City laws that have been aggressively enforced in the five boroughs of New York City recently and our firm has seen numerous people charged with these offenses. They involve possession of a knife over 4 inches (4″) and possession of a knife in public. Both laws can be found in the New York City Administrative Code §10-133.
Section 10-133(b) makes it an offense, punishable by up to 15 days in jail to possess any knife with a blade of 4″ or more in length in a public place. This very broadly worded statute can include use of a steak knife at the outdoor seating area of a restaurant and a whole bunch of other innocent situations.
Section 10-133(c) makes it an offense to possess any knife in public view or wear a knife which is outside the clothing of any size in any public place. Again, this statute makes it an offense to possess knives in New York City in a wide variety of innocent situations including at block parties, picnics or barbeques.
The bottomline is that anyone carrying a knife in New York City is subject to being arrested either pursuant to the administrative code or pursuant to the New York State Penal Law sections that we discussed in Part 1 and Part 2 of this blog series. If you or anyone you know has been stopped, arrested or charged in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens or any other place in New York should contact Tilem & Campbell, 24 hours a day at 877-377-8666.