Council Would Roll Up Awning Law, For Local Stores
by john toscano

The City Council was scheduled yesterday to put the brakes to a 1962 law which "runs against common sense," according to Council Speaker Gifford Miller and has saddled many small businesses throughout the city with massive fines.

Rather than repeal the law immediately, the council plans to establish a six-month moratorium on fines for awning violations.

The proposed moratorium amends a bill filed by Councilmember Hiram Monserrate (D–Corona), who was among the first to respond to the plight of small business owners along Roosevelt Avenue, many of them new immigrants being penalized with large fines for merely having more than their business name and address on the awnings over their store fronts.

Meanwhile, Councilmember David Weprin (D–Hollis), also responding to calls for help from small business owners in his northeast Queens district, has introduced legislation to revise the 40-year-old law which makes it a violation to put anything more than name and address, such as a store’s telephone number or logo, on its awning. He is presently working with the City Planning Commission to rewrite the law.

Attacking the law’s "excessive and unreasonable" aspects, Weprin explained, "thousands of merchants in every community of the city are in violation of this regulation without knowing it. I have met with store owners in my district—basically ‘Mom and Pop’ operators—who in some cases have served their communities for more than 20 years and now find themselves faced with the horrendous possibility of closing their stores because they cannot afford to correct this type of violation."

Monserrate said, "Small business owners may not be at the top of the corporate food chain, but they are the economic lifeblood of communities of color across this city. These merchants are not out to break the law, they are trying to put food on the table for their families. I introduced this legislation to ensure a common-sense approach that does not break the back of hard-working entrepreneurs."

Councilmember John Liu (D–Flushing), chairman of the Transportation Committee, which is considering the awning legislation, was also sympathetic to the small business owners.

"Based on testimony offered at our first public hearing on these bills," he stated, "we are clearly supporting the ability of small businesses to serve our diverse communities without compromising public safety on our sidewalks."

The current law prohibits "visual clutter" on commercial signs, permitting only a name and address on the awning over a window or door.

Violations carry a $2,500 fine for first infractions and $10,000 for subsequent infractions. Originally, a council spokesman explained, the law was intended to prevent use of words that made racial, sexual or other offensive references.

Miller stated, "The city’s laws must reflect the changing realities of the last 41 years. The world has changed a lot since 1962. Now it’s time for the law to catch up."