Adams aims to cut fines imposed on small firms
Mayor Adams ordered city agencies on Tuesday to begin phasing out “unnecessary” business fines in an effort to bring relief to mom-and-pop businesses that have struggled during the pandemic.
The executive order, which Adams signed at Pearl River Mart in lower Manhattan, requires that within three months several city agencies identify the 25 violations that lead to the most summonses and fines issued to small businesses.
Once that process is complete, agencies will be tasked with recommending reforms, such as scaled-back fine schedules and allowances for warnings.
“You just opened a new business, you make a mistake, you should not be hit with a fine that’s going to prevent you from keeping your doors open,” Adams said. “Fix the problem — that’s the goal. The goal is not to harm you, but to help you.”
His executive order applies to several agencies, including the Departments of Buildings, Environmental Protection and Sanitation, as well as the Fire Department, Department of Health and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
Adams said Tuesday he anticipates the review of those agencies’ fine structures to be complete by March and reform measures to be implemented as early as June.
“All of these entities separately carry out important functions,” Adams said of the agencies covered by the order, “but they have not been business-friendly enough for this administration.”
He noted that the general emphasis of the reforms would be “compliance” and education — and a move away from punishment and fines.
Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, who oversees economic and workforce development for Adams, said examples of unnecessary enforcement include an almost $100 fine for not having a weighing scale visibly present in a bodega or grocery store and a $400 levy for failing to clearly display prices in a laundromat.
“Generally, we have too many false choices in this city,” she said. “We think that we have to choose between the health of the public and the health of small business.”