Pest control company sues Floral Park over solicitation ban

Rebecca Klar
A pest control company is suing Floral Park for the village's ban on solicitation. (File photo)
A pest control company is suing Floral Park for the village's ban on solicitation. (File photo)

A pest control company is suing Floral Park for what the company claims is an unconstitutional village ban on door-to-door solicitation that the company says hurts business, according to court records.

The Utah-based company, Aptive Environmental, calls the ban a “flagrant violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments,” according to court records.

The code is enforced by the village “as a means of depriving [Aptive Environmental] of protected speech,” court documents state.

Floral Park village attorney John Ryan declined to comment.

Court documents show that village officials agreed to a temporary injunction with Aptive on Aug. 21 that allows the company to solicit for the time being.

The temporary agreement allows Aptive representatives to solicit in the village between 9 a.m. and dusk.

Floral Park’s code, passed in 1943 and amended in 1984, bans all commercial solicitation in the village; it does not allow for any corporation or representative to “hawk, vend, peddle or solicit order” for goods or other commodities.

Aptive says the ban hurts its business, which is done almost exclusively through door-to-door solicitation, according to court documents.

Nearly half of Aptive’s sales occur between 5 p.m. and dusk, according to court records.

The company also requires sales representatives to apply for and receive solicitation licenses in any municipality where it is required, according to court records.

The neighboring Village of New Hyde Park allows for door-to-door solicitation upon approval by the village board. The Town of North Hempstead has a similar policy, which allows a business to solicit after a license is approved.

Floral Park is one of two Long Island villages facing charges from Aptive.

Aptive filed a complaint against the Village of Poquott, in the Town of Brookhaven, the same week, according to court documents.

Jeremy Fielding, a Texas-based attorney representing Aptive, was not immediately available for contact on Friday morning, but told Newsday Aptive first entered the Long Island market in April.

Many Long Island villages have granted licenses for Aprive to solicit, Fielding told Newsday.

“We’re really confident in our position on the law and we expect to prevail,” Fielding told Newsday. “It’s up to the villages to decide if they want to fight this or repeal the ban.”

Aptive has a presence in more than 20 states across the country.

The company’s New York presence includes Long Island to Westchester County.

Reach reporter Rebecca Klar by email at rklar@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516-307-1045, ext. 204, or follow her on Twitter @rebeccaklar_.

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