Mayor Eric Adams announced that the repeal or change in how more than 100 business fines and city violations are enforced will ease the “trauma” New York City business owners feel when seeing inspectors approach their businesses. .
The city will completely eliminate 30 fines facing Big Apple businesses. It will also reduce another 49 and add a grace period to another 39, according to the Mayor’s Office.
Although the mayor did not release a full list of the changes and which penalties will no longer apply, examples include repealing rules about having compostable straw bins or displaying permits on electrical work, according to the city.
The Department of Environmental Protection will also give restaurants more time to fix problems with grease interceptors, and the Department of Health will reduce fines for breaking rules on time and temperature control while food is being prepared, the release says. .
Businesses will also now have 60 days to correct Buildings Department violations that do not involve imminent danger.
“We’re not going to go in right away and give you a ticket,” Adams said. “For those non-emergency violations, we’ll say ‘This is wrong, fix it.’ We’ll give you a period of time to fix it.”
The changes to how the city’s violations will be enforced, to be implemented before the end of the year, will save New York City small businesses $8.9 million in fines and fees each year, Adams said.
The mayor’s announcement comes after Adams signed Executive Order 2 in January, which required several departments to review existing business regulations and reduce or eliminate unnecessary fines and penalties.
“For too long we have stifled the entrepreneurial spirit in New York City. Nobody wanted to do business here, nobody wanted to go through the red tape,” Adams said.
“Today, we’re cutting red tape, reducing burdensome regulations and saving our small businesses an estimated $8.9 million by fueling our recovery and paving the way for an equitable economy in all five boroughs.”
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