Of the tens of thousands of metal roll-down gates in New York City, the creamsicle orange and pink one guarding Park Slope\u2019s Breadivore bakery may be among the most attractive.<\/p>\n
Breadivore owner Cixiu Gao commissioned a local artist to paint the gate to match the shop\u2019s awning two years ago. So when she heard the city was banning gates like hers effective July 1, she was upset.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aIt’s a ridiculous regulation. It doesn’t make sense,\u201d Gao said in an interview.<\/p>\n
The ban stems from a nearly 20-year-old law. In 2009, the City Council passed legislation<\/a> requiring security grilles to be at least 70% see-through \u2014 both to deter graffiti and allow police and firefighters to better see into stores when responding to potentially dangerous calls.<\/p>\n The law was meant to go into effect gradually, with solid metal gates fully phased out by July 1, 2026, and replaced with chain-link style<\/a> grilles. After that, fines<\/a> for those out of compliance would be $250 for the first offense and over $1,000 for repeat offenses.<\/p>\n But as the deadline approaches, small business owners and business groups are complaining the law was poorly communicated and barely publicized.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really caught a lot of people off guard,\u201d said Mark Caserta, vice president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at this as a ticking time bomb.\u201d<\/p>\n Replacing a metal roll-gate can cost thousands of dollars. Gao said she was quoted between $6,000 and $7,000 to replace the one at her bakery.<\/p>\n Build Up Justice NYC, a nonprofit that provides free legal services, said it’s been inundated with questions from small businesses about how to comply with the new law.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aThey’re barely making ends meet due to insurance, rising commercial rents, real estate taxes, and disruptions in their supply chain, as well as skyrocketing costs,\u201d said William Joyce, the group\u2019s community economic development program director. \u201cThis could really, really endanger these businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n Elected officials are now scrambling to undo their own legislation. The City Council is set to hear a new bill<\/a> Monday that would repeal most of the 2009 law\u2019s requirements. All existing metal roll-gates would be grandfathered in under the new legislation, and gates would only be required to be 70% transparent upon replacement.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI was getting an overwhelming number of calls,\u201d said Councilmember Althea Stevens, the bill\u2019s lead sponsor. \u201c\u200aI think that we need to give the businesses the time to be able to comply.\u201d<\/p>\n Stevens said she\u2019s served on the Council for four years and \u201c\u200aI have not heard about this bill at all.\u201d She said the lack of outreach and publicity from the Department of Buildings over the last decade was \u201cunacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n