Sale of personal property

§ 5233. Sale of personal property. (a) Public auction. The interest
of the judgment debtor in personal property obtained by a sheriff
pursuant to execution or order, other than legal tender of the United
States, shall be sold by the sheriff at public auction at such time and
place and as a unit or in such lots, or combination thereof, as in his
judgment will bring the highest price, but no sale may be made to that
sheriff or to his deputy or undersheriff. The property shall be present
and within the view of those attending the sale unless otherwise ordered
by the court.

(b) Public notice. A printed notice of the time and place of the sale
shall be posted at least six days before the sale in three public places
in the town or city in which the sale is to be held, provided however,
in the city of New York, in lieu of posting such notice may be
advertised in the auction columns of any morning newspaper published
daily and Sunday in such city an edition of which appears on the
newsstands the previous night and has a circulation of not less than
three hundred thousand. An omission to so post or advertise notice, or
the defacing or removal of a posted notice, does not affect the title of
a purchaser without notice of the omission or offense.

(c) Order for immediate sale or disposition. The court may direct
immediate sale or other disposition of property with or without notice
if the urgency of the case requires.

(d) Unsaleable material. If property seized by the sheriff is
considered by him to be material which, by law, may not be sold, he
shall apply to the court for a determination whether the property can
legally be sold. Reasonable notice of such application shall also be
given to the owner of such property. If the court decides the property
may not be legally sold, it shall order appropriate disposition of the
property which may include its destruction.