New York Consolidated Laws, General Business Law - GBS § 581. Definitions

(a) The term “closing out sale” shall include, but not be limited to, all sales advertised, represented, or held forth under the designation of “quitting business,” “going out of business,” “discontinuance of business,” “closing out,” “selling out,” “liquidation,” “lost our lease,” “must vacate,” “forced out,” “removal,” “branch store discontinuance sale,” “building coming down,” “end,” “final days,” “final clearance,” “last days,” “lease expires,” “we give up sale,” “we quit sale,” “warehouse closing sale,” “warehouse removal sale,” “reorganization sale,” or any other advertising or designation by any other expression or characterization similar to any of the foregoing giving notice to the public that the sale will precede the abandonment of a business location.

(b) The term “sale of goods damaged by fire, smoke or water” shall include, but not be limited to, all sales advertised, represented or held forth under the designation of “fire sale,” “smoke damage sale,” “water damage sale,” “flood damage sale,” “insurance sale,” or any other advertising or designation by any other expression or characterization similar to any of the foregoing giving notice to the public that the goods, wares or merchandise offered for sale have been damaged.

(c) The term “defunct business sale” shall include, but not be limited to, all sales advertised, represented or held forth under the designation of “adjuster's sale,” “administrator's sale,” “assignee's sale,” “bankrupt sale,” “bankrupt stock sale,” “benefit of administrator's sale,” “benefit of creditor's sale,” “benefit of trustee's sale,” “creditor's committee sale,” “creditor's sale,” “executor's sale,” “insolvent sale,” “mortgage sale,” “receiver's sale,” “trustee's sale,” or any other advertising or designation by any other expression or characterization similar to any of the foregoing conveying the same meaning or giving notice to the public of a sale resulting from death, business failure, or other adversity.

(d) “Unusual purchase or addition” shall mean any purchase of goods, wares or merchandise during the ninety days preceding the application for a license, the total value of which is at least twenty-five per cent greater than purchases made by the applicant for a like ninety-day period during the year next preceding the year in which the application is made or the total value of which is at least twenty-five per cent greater than the purchases made by the applicant for any ninety-day period if the applicant has been in business for less than one year.

(e) “Person” shall mean any individual, partnership, association, firm or corporation.

(f) “Licensee” shall mean any person granted a license pursuant to the provisions of this article.

(g) “Licensing authority” shall mean that department or officer of any city, town or village established for the specific purpose of issuing licenses, and where there is no such department or officer, it shall mean the clerk of such city, town or village.