The daily battle waged by many New Yorkers against unwanted fliers, menus, and advertisements piling up in apartment lobbies and on front stoops may be about to end: A new state law would make it illegal to distribute circulars to buildings that do not want them.

The measure would subject businesses that ignore signs stating that property owners do not want any unsolicited advertisements to fines of $250 to $1,000 for each violation, with a maximum fine of $5,000. The restriction is limited to cities with a population greater than 1 million, Albany code for New York City.

Assemblyman Mark Weprin of Queens, who sponsored the legislation, said fliers and advertisements on front stoops and front yards are a “real quality of life issue.”

“A lot of people don’t like them because they are creating litter,” he said.

Local efforts to stamp out the unwanted fliers have languished at City Hall because they were believed to violate the First Amendment.

Mr. Weprin said he is confident that the new law will stand up to judicial challenges. He noted that it will be amended in the fall so that tenants of buildings with more than three apartments can opt to receive fliers. A landlord would note on the sign the number of fliers tenants in such buildings wish to receive, Mr. Weprin said. The state law also contains exemptions for political advertisements, newspapers, and weekly publications that contain at least a small amount of news, Mr. Weprin said.

At China Red Restaurant in Lower Manhattan, deliverymen always carry a stack of paper menus to leave in the lobby of any building they are visiting, a woman who works at the restaurant, Heather Zhang, said. She said the new law would hurt business because distributing the menus leads to new customers.

In April, a City Council member of Brooklyn, Simcha Felder, introduced a similar bill in the council. He said he is relieved that finally there is a law “that will allow homeowners to be protected from people who drive them out of their minds on a daily basis.”