City Council Repeals Security Gate Law After Small Business Backlash

NY City Council unanimously reversed a 17-year-old local law which would have required security gates to have 70% visibility from the sidewalk by July 1. If enforced, the law would have began imposing fines of up to $250 for violators.

In a close call, the NY City Council repealed Local Law 75, established in 2009, which required store owners to update or replace security grilles in storefronts in accordance with new regulations. The new bill, which amends Local Law 75, passed 51 to 0 in City Council June 30, one day before the July 1, 2026, deadline for new gates.

Int 910, sponsored by Bronx Council Member Althea Stevens, repealed the visibility requirement and is currently awaiting Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s final signature. But since the bill passed unanimously, it is veto-proof and effectively law with or without Mamdani’s signature.

In the original bill, the 70% visibility requirement was meant to provide “greater visual access for security” and a “brighter, safer, and more welcoming NYC,” according to gate guidelines. The reversed code would have applied to all businesses and merchants, small and large, throughout the city, requiring existing storeowners to update their gates and apply to all future gates installed.

Storeowners throughout the city had expressed concerns over the costs to replace or buy new gates in accordance with LL 75’s regulations before the deadline, according to a City Council committee report. Additionally, council members worried that many existing grilles may still be noncompliant with LL 75’s standards before the deadline due to issues with outreach, according to a City Council testimony hearing.

Some New Yorkers also pointed out that security gates with full-covering allow for street-side murals to adorn the storefronts.

With the passing of the city council’s last-minute bill, storeowners can breathe a sigh of relief, as the Department of Buildings announced that the visibility requirement no longer applies.

New York residents responded to the ‘regulatory whiplash’ over the weekend, praising City Council for reversing the bill.

“City mandated operational costs are a large contributor to affordability challenges in NYC,” Ilan R. wrote on the social media forum Nextdoor. “Both for residential and commercial rentals. Althea Stevens took the right steps to eliminate one of these unfunded mandates.”

“Glad the city back down,” Jean Harry wrote on the same thread. “There needs to be a balance between aesthetics and making sure small businesses thrive.”