New York statute
N.Y. Penal Law § 240.30 — Aggravated harassment in the second degree
Current through 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17)
Part of Article 240: Offenses Against Public Order, New York Penal Law.
Criminal charges under this statute
Full text of N.Y. Penal Law § 240.30
Statutory text current through the 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17). This publication reproduces the text of the Consolidated Laws of New York as provided by the New York State Senate's Open Legislation service (Legislative Bill Drafting Commission statutory text); it is not the official statutes of the State of New York.
240.30 Aggravated harassment in the second degree.
A person is guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree when:
1. With intent to harass another person, the actor either:
(a) communicates, anonymously or otherwise, by telephone, by computer
or any other electronic means, or by mail, or by transmitting or
delivering any other form of communication, a threat to cause physical
harm to, or unlawful harm to the property of, such person, or a member
of such person's same family or household as defined in subdivision one
of section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law, and the actor knows or
reasonably should know that such communication will cause such person to
reasonably fear harm to such person's physical safety or property, or to
the physical safety or property of a member of such person's same family
or household; or
(b) causes a communication to be initiated anonymously or otherwise,
by telephone, by computer or any other electronic means, or by mail, or
by transmitting or delivering any other form of communication, a threat
to cause physical harm to, or unlawful harm to the property of, such
person, a member of such person's same family or household as defined in
subdivision one of section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law, and the
actor knows or reasonably should know that such communication will cause
such person to reasonably fear harm to such person's physical safety or
property, or to the physical safety or property of a member of such
person's same family or household; or
2. With intent to harass or threaten another person, he or she makes a
telephone call, whether or not a conversation ensues, with no purpose of
legitimate communication; or
3. With the intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person,
he or she strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise subjects another person
to physical contact, including removing a religious clothing article or
headdress from such person, or attempts or threatens to do the same
because of a belief or perception regarding such person's race, color,
national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression,
religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation,
regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct; or
3-a. With the intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another
person, such person strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise subjects
another person to physical contact, which includes spitting on such
other person, and such other person is a train operator, ticket
inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent, station
cleaner, terminal cleaner, station customer assistant, traffic checker;
person whose official duties include the sale or collection of tickets,
passes, vouchers, or other revenue payment media for use on a train,
bus, or ferry or the collection or handling of revenues therefrom; a
person whose official duties include the maintenance, repair,
inspection, troubleshooting, testing or cleaning of buses or ferries, a
transit signal system, elevated or underground subway tracks, transit
station structure, including fare equipment, escalators, elevators and
other equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or
stations, train yard, revenue train in passenger service, a ferry
station, or a train or bus station or terminal; or a supervisor of such
personnel, employed by any transit agency, authority or company, public
or private, whose operation is authorized by New York state or any of
its political subdivisions while such individual is performing an
assigned duty; or
4. With the intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person,
he or she strikes, shoves, kicks or otherwise subjects another person to
physical contact thereby causing physical injury to such person or to a
family or household member of such person as defined in section 530.11
of the criminal procedure law; or
5. He or she commits the crime of harassment in the first degree and
has previously been convicted of the crime of harassment in the first
degree as defined by section 240.25 of this article within the preceding
ten years.
Aggravated harassment in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor.
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
Questions this section answers
What class of misdemeanor is aggravated harassment in the second degree in New York?
Aggravated harassment in the second degree is a Class A Misdemeanor in New York under N.Y. Penal Law § 240.30.
Which New York statute covers aggravated harassment in the second degree?
Aggravated harassment in the second degree is governed by N.Y. Penal Law § 240.30 (Aggravated harassment in the second degree).
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.