Businesses fear costly impact of security grille mandate

On July 1, the compliance deadline for Local Law 75 arrives. The law requires all security grilles installed on buildings to allow 70% visibility into the business from the sidewalk.

For the past few months, this law has been a matter of discussion and concern among business owners, who will be most affected by the law, as well as lawmakers and advocates for local business, including the Sunset Park Business Improvement District and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

As of May 14, there is legislation in the City Council, introduced by Council Member Althea Stevens (who co-authored an op-ed in the Sunset Post about this issue), that would grandfather in existing opaque gates, requiring only new installations to meet transparency standards.

According to Stevens’ office, the council member is working “to ensure the bill is heard before the deadline.”

After this legislation was introduced, the Department of Buildings, the city agency that would enforce the law and fine business owners not in compliance, announced it “will not enforce the current law [and looks] forward to continuing to engage the Council regarding the newly proposed legislation.”

Although the introduction of legislation is a step forward for business owners, for some, only a full repeal of the law is acceptable.

Francisco Salazar, owner of Sunset Mini Meat Market at 4116 Fifth Ave., is one of them. He sees only downsides for business owners if this law is kept intact in any way.

“If people can see inside the business, people can see what they want to steal, like ATMs,” Salazar said. “If there were benefits for the business, I would do it, but there are no benefits for us.”

Kalvis Mikelsteins, vice president of operations and planning for the DUMBO BID, said the benefits of the law were originally described this way: “Lights left on overnight would help illuminate the sidewalk, less opportunity for graffiti because there is no solid surface, and visibility into the store if a crime is happening.”

Roberto Beltre, owner of Sunset Stoop, 4114 Fifth Ave., is a major voice in the neighborhood when it comes to informing others about the law. He posts online, advocating for change, and has met with the commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services, petitioning for help for business owners during a time when so few are thriving financially.

“I would have to pay $7,000 to get a new gate,” Beltre said. “This while paying my sales tax, mortgage, my liquor license renewal, licensing fees to music companies. And it would cost me $7,000, but it could cost even more for bigger businesses.”

David Estrada, executive director of the Sunset Park Business Improvement District, said, “Those figures Rob quoted are low for many businesses. And imagine if the law isn’t changed. Those prices will only go up.”

The Sunset Park BID did an audit of storefronts in Sunset Park to measure how many are in compliance, meaning they would not have to install a new gate. Although the audit was unable to capture every business in the area, of those audited, only 9% of businesses were compliant.

The possibility of gate companies taking advantage of the law change is a major concern for business owners and advocates.

“Imagine this. Say the law isn’t changed. Come July 1, gate companies talk to every non-compliant business in the city, trying to sell them new gates,” Estrada said. “If the business doesn’t buy it, they call 311 and report the business. Now that’s on the record and they have to investigate and fine the business. Then the business agrees to buy a gate.”

Beltre fears this tactic from gate installation and repair companies, whose marketing tactics he believes are often aggressive, bordering on predatory.

“Walk down Fifth Avenue, on every single gate there are stickers advertising gate businesses and their cards are all over the street. I stopped scraping off the stickers they stick on my gate because they just put more on them,” Beltre said. “And some of those businesses might be listening to these gate people about the law and already buying new gates.”

This, Beltre emphasized, is why it is imperative the City Council act now and not wait until the last minute.

“Every day the law isn’t changed, that’s another day another business is getting scammed,” Beltre said. “We’re all putting our faith in the City Council right now.”