By Donna Lamb

Beginning in July 2011, when New York City business owners purchase new security gates, they will be required to buy an openwork type that leaves more than 70 percent of the area visible. By 2026, all remaining opaque metal roll-down security gates must be replaced with a higher-visibility model.

"Why are we making this change?" asked Speaker Christine Quinn (left) prior the City Council vote that made this into a local law. "Because anyone who has walked around our city knows that those hard non-see through security gates often get covered in graffiti and become neighborhood eyesores, a real quality-of-life problem. The see-through gates are much less appealing to people who are putting up graffiti."

The bill was sponsored by Council Member Peter Vallone, Jr. (right), chair of the Council’s Public Safety Committee and a real crusader against graffiti. Although it took four years to pass this bill, he never gave up. That’s because he remained convinced that replacing the old opaque gates will make the city more welcoming and attractive since "after closing time, our streets will no longer look like graffiti strewn war zones," plus, the change will make it safer for police officers and fire fighters to respond to an alarm because they will be able to see inside before entering an establishment.

Vallone declared that while they have passed many good bills in the City Council, not too many will actually make a significant difference in the cityscape. "But years from now when we walk down the street with our child or grandchild and they point to one of these disgusting metal gates and ask ‘What is that thing?’ we will be able to tell them that our city was once filled with them; however, we at the City Council did something about it. That will be our living legacy – that we made this city a more beautiful place," he concluded.

Before arriving at the floor for a vote, the bill spent time in the City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings, chaired by Erik Martin Dilan (left). From the beginning, Dilan’s concern was that mandating these new gates would create a financial burden and have a negative impact on small businesses since the openwork gates usually cost about $400 more than an opaque version. However, after soliciting and receiving much input from his fellow councilmembers, Dilan believes that they have finally arrived at a good piece of legislation that balances graffiti curtailment with the best interests of business owners. For one thing, the gate replacements will be phased in over an extended period of time. The typical security gate lasts from 10 to 15 years, which means most businesses with roll-down gates will have had to replace them by 2026 anyway.

Along with the support of the NYPD and FDNY, many shop owners feel positive about the legislation and hope that requiring gate replacements with rolling grilles will actually be good for business. Council Member Kendall Stewart (right) reports that in his district, business owners at the Junction near Brooklyn College are in favor of the new regulation. "People think the see-through gates look much more decorative even after businesses close," he explained. "They make the entire area less ominous and more inviting in the evening because people can still look inside. Even after a store is closed, a window shopper going home from a restaurant can spot something they want through the display window and decide to come back the next day to buy it. That can’t happen with the old non-see through gates."

The legislation, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2010, directs the Buildings Department to develop a program to alert affected businesses, development corporations, chambers of commerce, and community boards of the new rules. While a violation will carry a penalty of $250 for a first offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense, between 2011 and 2026, any business cited for having the incorrect gates will not have to pay a fine if the violation is corrected within 90 days or if the owner can prove the gate was installed before 2011. Even after 2026, businesses will be able to avoid fines if they replace the roll-down gate within 90 days of being cited.