THE QUEENS
JANUARY 2019
Photos courtesy of City Councilman Peter Koo’s offi ce
City Councilmen Rafael Espinal and Peter Koo rally with local businesses at Union Street -- the once vibrant commercial strip in Flushing now barren due to sign penalties.
SIGNING ON FOR RELIEF
Flushing businesses back new city awning regulations
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Councilmen Rafael Espinal and Peter
Koo joined merchants in the Asian
American Federation’s Union Street
Small Business Program in Flushing on
Jan. 8 to rally in support of the Awnings
Act — legislation that would ease the
punitive burden on small businesses in
response to a recent citywide blitz of violations
for improper signs and awnings.
Although the recent spate of sign violations
imposed by the NYC Department
of Buildings has aff ected businesses
throughout the city, there is stark visual
evidence of its impact on Flushing’s
Union Street, where Koo and Espinal rallied
with supporters on Tuesday.
“Th is law was made 60 years ago, and it’s
absurd that there are only 20 to 30 people
who are licensed to hang signs. Meanwhile,
there are over 200,000 small businesses in
NYC,” said Ikhwan Rim, president of the
Union Street Small Business Association.
“Some small business owners are actually
closing their stores and loaning money to
pay off their penalty.”
Aft er receiving thousands of dollars
in fi nes, dozens of businesses on Union
Street were forced to remove their signs,
turning the once vibrant commercial corridor
in Flushing into a barren strip of
exposed brick and cement storefronts.
“Th e enforcement blitz on mom-andpop
stores throughout our city, particularly
here in Flushing, smacks of a
one-sided gotcha game played by the city
of New York,” Koo said. “Th e Awnings
Act looks to tip the scales back into balance
and give our small businesses a fair
chance to comply with the law.”
Espinal is the primary sponsor of the
Awnings Act; Koo is co-sponsoring the
legislation along with fellow Queens
Councilman Robert Holden, Bronx
Councilman Mark Gjonaj and Brooklyn
Councilmen Justin Brannan, Carlos
Menchaca and Kalman Yeger.
Th e legislation seeks to provide immediate
relief for small businesses implementing
a two-year moratorium on the
DOB’s ability to issue any fi nes/violations
relating to business signs; and education
and outreach where the DOB, DCP
and SBS must develop an education program
for small businesses covering accessory
signs, regulations and how to bring
non-compliant signs into compliance.
Additionally, the legislation would create
a task force — comprised of small
business owners, chambers of commerce
from each borough, union rep,
licensed sign hanger and numerous city
agencies (the Departments of Buildings,
City Planning, Citywide Administrative
Services and Small Business Services,
and the Landmarks Preservation
Commission) — to investigate predatory
practices that might explain the concentration
of violations in certain areas and a
strategy for reform.
Th e task force will also analyze an outreach
strategy to make sure all businesses
are better informed about regulations and
how to avoid fi nes before the moratorium
is lift ed. Within 12 months, the task force
must complete an evaluation of the relevance
and appropriateness of current regulatory
practices and evaluate sign hanging
qualifi cations and if they should be
changed.
According to Espinal, the legislation
has been about “delivering relief to small
businesses.”
“Walk up Fulton Street in my district,
or here in Flushing, and you can see
fi rst-hand the toll that this enforcement
blitz has taken on our mom-and-pop
shops and family-owned restaurants,”
said Espinal. “Th e bill I am sponsoring
will put a stop to that, and ensure we
are working with small businesses, rather
than unfairly penalizing them for laws
that most weren’t even aware of.”
Jo-Ann Yoo, executive director of the
Asian American Federation, thanked
Koo and Espinal for proposing a strong
Awnings Act that will help 100-plus
merchants that the Asian American
Federation is working with on Union
Street to address the signage issue.
Yoo requested that the DOB provide
in-language instructions and forms for
signage permits in the mandated languages,
since many small business owners do
not speak English well enough to understand
permit requirements and are penalized
as a result.
“Th e city must do a better job in educating
ALL small business owners, especially
as Asian small businesses are critical to
the city’s economy,” said Yoo.
Th e Awnings Act legislation was slated
to get a vote during the Jan. 9 City
Council stated meeting at City Hall.
Results of that vote will be posted when
available; if passed, the bill will be sent
to Mayor Bill de Blasio for his signature.
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