Williams v. Bratton

• Decision Date: 24 April 1997
• Citation: 238 A.D.2d 269,656 N.Y.S.2d 626
• Parties: In re Application of Joseph G. WILLIAMS, Petitioner-Respondent, v. William J. BRATTON, etc., et al., Respondents-Appellants.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 626

656 N.Y.S.2d 626

238 A.D.2d 269

In re Application of Joseph G. WILLIAMS, Petitioner-Respondent, v. William J. BRATTON, etc., et al., Respondents-Appellants.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division First Department.

April 24, 1997.

Harry R. Pollak, for Petitioner-Respondent.

Fay Ng, for Respondents-Appellants.

Before SULLIVAN, J.P., and WALLACH, WILLIAMS and TOM, JJ.

MEMORANDUM DECISION.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Louis York, J.), entered on or about September 7, 1995, which annulled the determination of the New York City Police Commissioner denying petitioner's application for a "carry" pistol license, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs or disbursements, the petition dismissed and the determination confirmed.

In April 1994, petitioner, an attorney with a real estate and estates practice, applied for a carry pistol license. Citing petitioner's 1985 arrest for reckless endangerment and discharging a firearm and the circumstances of that arrest, as well as the absence of documentation to support petitioner's claim of substantial cash flow or frequent cash deposits, the police officer investigating petitioner's application recommended disapproval. The application was subsequently disapproved, for the reason that "[d]ocumentation does not support * * * [s]ubstantial cash on hand [or f]requent cash deposits" and for an "other," unspecified, reason. After petitioner's administrative appeal was denied, he commenced this Article 78 proceeding challenging respondents' determination. The IAS court granted the petition and directed the Police Commissioner to issue the permit, noting that petitioner had "once before" been granted a permit, which was revoked only after his arrest on charges, which had thereafter been dismissed.

The issuance of a license to carry a gun is a privilege, not a right. (Sewell v. City of New York, 182 A.D.2d 469, 472, 583 N.Y.S.2d 255, lv. denied 80 N.Y.2d 756, 588 N.Y.S.2d 824, 602 N.E.2d 232.) An applicant for such a license must show that "proper cause" for its issuance has been established. (Matter of Bernstein v. Police Dept. of City of New York, 85 A.D.2d 574, 445 N.Y.S.2d 716; see also, Penal Law sec. 400.00.) To establish "proper cause," an applicant must, inter alia, "sufficiently demonstrate a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community or of persons engaged in the same profession." (Matter of Klenosky v. New York City Police Dept., 75 A.D.2d 793, 428 N.Y.S.2d 256, affd. 53 N.Y.2d 685, 439 N.Y.S.2d 108, 421 N.E.2d 503.)

As the record shows, the Police Commissioner's denial of petitioner's application was neither arbitrary and capricious nor an abuse of discretion. In his 1994 application, petitioner claimed that he is "required to handle large sums of cash in closing situations" and to "take custody of certified checks for large...