obscure, decades-old law mandating changes<\/a> to the security barriers this summer.<\/p>\nNew \u201ctransparent\u201d gates were installed at US Fried Chicken in The Bronx in order to comply with the 2009 law. Khalil Ahmed<\/p>\n
The 17-year-old measure, passed as an anti-graffiti tactic by the City Council in 2009, requires storefronts to replace solid security grilles with gates that are at least 70% transparent \u2013 or else face up to $1,250 in penalties starting July 1.<\/p>\n
The new mandate would allow passersby to window shop and deter would-be vandals from defacing the gates, lawmakers argued at the time.<\/p>\n
But Khalil Ahmed, the owner of the US Fried Chicken chain of restaurants in the Bronx, believes the modification will leave his business more susceptible to lurking thieves.<\/p>\n
The mandate would deter would-be vandals from defacing the gates, lawmakers argued at the time of the law\u2019s passage. UCG\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are much lighter to break than the other [gates],\u201d lamented Ahmed, who said he recently spent up to $3,000 a pop on new gates across his five locations. \u201cPeople see through the glass. If they see something \u2026 they\u2019re going to break [into] the store.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prince Ali, a manager at Yankee Convenience near the Bronx Bombers\u2019 home stadium, said he similarly fears break-ins, but still plans to change the store barriers within the coming weeks to avoid risking fines from the Department of Buildings. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a matter of money, it\u2019s just a matter of security,\u201d he said. \u201cYou never know what kind of nights people might have, and we\u2019re surrounded by bars and clubs in the middle of the Yankee season.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that the gates are going to be clear gives [owners] a vulnerability of making sure that they can\u2019t have their valuable products laid out,\u201d said Allied Universal security guard Alfonzo Carrillo, who works at a Chase Bank near Yankee Stadium. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re able to see inside their businesses after hours when nobody\u2019s around.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Khalil Ahmed, the owner of the US Fried Chicken chain of restaurants in the Bronx, believes the modification will leave his business more vulnerable to criminals. Khalil Ahmed<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a burden,\u201d fumed Daniel Gordon, a manager at Bronx-based restaurant Eating Tree, who hadn\u2019t heard of the mandate before a Post reporter inquired about it. <\/p>\n
\u201cI already have a full gate,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with it. So, if I have to change it, I have to spend [money] to change it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Several City Council members agree the measure will only burden or even shutter small businesses \u2013 with Brooklyn Council member Chris Banks going so far as to call the law a \u201cpoison pill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere remains little clear evidence of the specific problem this legislation was meant to solve, or whether it has effectively done so,\u201d said Council member Althea Stevens, who said she is introducing a bill Thursday to exempt existing businesses with traditional grilles from the city\u2019s enforcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, we are in a very different economic reality,\u201d she added:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSmall businesses, especially mom and pop shops, are still recovering from the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also facing rising rents, increased utility costs, and inflation. Requiring business owners to replace their existing roll-down gates at an average cost of nearly $10,000 is not just burdensome; it is unrealistic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRequiring business owners to replace their existing roll-down gates at an average cost of nearly $10,000 is not just burdensome; it is unrealistic,\u201d Council member Althea Stevens said. UCG\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n
The Department of Buildings said that, while it intends to begin enforcement in July, the introduction of a Stevens\u2019 bill may delay penalties in the boroughs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a new bill is introduced, and the City Council informs us that the proposed legislation is likely to pass, the Department will exercise discretion in delaying enforcement,\u201d DOB spokesperson Andrew Rudansky told The Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If new legislation is not introduced, the agency said it will commence enforcement in July.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even so, as the visibility requirements are \u201cnot an immediately hazardous public safety concern,\u201d the department will not be performing inspections of grilles to check for compliance.<\/p>\n
Instead, the department will rely \u201c100%\u201d on 311 complaints indicating requirements aren\u2019t met.<\/p>\n
Violations will also be considered \u201ccurable,\u201d meaning that business owners who replace grills within 90 days of a violation being issued will have the case dismissed without penalties.<\/p>\n
\u2014Additional reporting by Jordan Donegan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to the gates of hell. Big Apple retailers are fearing they will be forced to shell out…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":796603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,5248,405,403,7619,5226,5225,5228,5227,9207,5305,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-796602","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-metro","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-new-york-city-life","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkcity","15":"tag-ny","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-small-business","18":"tag-the-bronx","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-united-states-of-america","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-us-news","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116574829616179413","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=796602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=796602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=796602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=796602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}