New York City will completely eliminate 30 business fines and reduce about 90 others as part of ongoing efforts to cut red tape, Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday.
City officials said the changes — which include reducing fines for violating 49 local bylaws and introducing a grace period for 39 of them — will allow the city’s more than 200,000 small businesses Big Apple to save $8.9 million a year in penalties.
“For too long, we’ve stifled the entrepreneurial spirit in New York City,” Adams said at a news conference in Manhattan. “Nobody wanted to do business here, nobody wanted to go through bureaucracy.”
Now, “That’s not how we’re going to run this town,” Adams swore.
The mayor did not release the full list of recently amended bylaws, but among those lifted are Sanitation Department penalties for not offering specific bins for compostable straws and Buildings Department violation. not to display electrical work permits while this work is underway, according to a press release from the town hall.
The Department of Environmental Protection will also give restaurants more time to address issues with grease interceptors, and the Department of Health will reduce fines for violating rules regarding time and temperature screening when dining. food preparation, the statement said.
Adams, who last year repeatedly vowed to take a pro-business approach as mayor, told reporters he didn’t want business owners to have “waves” when employees of the city enter their establishments.
“You should be there knowing that they are there to keep my doors open, they are our partners,” the mayor said.
The announcement came after Adams signed Executive Order 2 in January, which required several agencies to review existing business regulations and reduce unnecessary fines and penalties.
“On day four of our administration, we made a promise to small businesses in our city, and today we are delivering,” Maria Torres-Springer, deputy mayor for economic development, said Sunday.
She said the “bold steps” in the “action plan” will give mom-and-pop marketers “a fighting chance” amid the rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a plan that ensures the system works with small businesses, not against them,” said Torres-Springer, a former member of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration.
Randy Peers, CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, praised City Hall for easing regulations, which he said grew 2.6% between 2010 and 2020.
“I’m very grateful to Mayor Adams and this administration, in his first week on the job, they announced an advanced small business initiative to address fines and violations,” he said, ” and today we see the results.”
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