The Chamber testifies against security guard mandates proposed by City Council
Written Comments to the New York City Council Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection
Hearing Topic;
INT 1391 - Establishment of compensation and training standards for security guards.
October 30, 2025
The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce represents thousands of businesses, from small storefronts to large institutions, who all agree that safety is a prerequisite for serving their communities. We share the goal of a safe city, which requires a professional and well-supported security workforce. However, we strongly oppose Introduction 1391.
This bill is a stark example of legislative overreach. It goes far beyond setting a simple wage. It empowers a city agency to act as a central planner for an entire private industry, dictating complex, one-size-fits-all schedules for wages, paid sick leave, paid vacation, paid holidays, and benefit supplements. This top-down approach removes all flexibility for businesses to compete or to offer benefit packages that might better suit their specific employees, imposing a rigid mandate on an incredibly diverse sector.
The consequences will be devastating for our city's economy. The costs for essential security services will skyrocket for every office building, retail store, cultural institution, non-profit, and residential co-op. This isn't just a commercial issue; it hits New Yorkers where they live and support their communities. It forces businesses into an impossible choice: pay these crippling new costs or cut back on the security hours that keep their staff, customers, and tenants safe.
These costs are not absorbed in a vacuum. They are a direct inflationary driver. They will be passed on immediately to commercial tenants in higher rents and to everyday New Yorkers in higher prices for literally everything—from a cup of coffee to a theater ticket. This bill is a direct-line driver of the very affordability crisis it purports to address, making it harder to live and work in our city.
Introduction 1391 is not an isolated proposal; it is the latest and most egregious addition to the "mandate maze" of complex, unfunded, and overlapping regulations that are choking this city's small businesses. For years, owners have told us they are drowning in paperwork and cumulative costs. This bill is a prime example of legislating in the dark, with no clear understanding of the full economic consequences.
Has this Council studied how many security jobs will be lost to automation or cuts? How many small businesses, already on the brink, will be forced to close? What is the projected cost increase for non-profits, and which of their services will be cut as a result?
We urge you to abandon this dangerous bill. Instead, we call on the Council to do what it has failed to do for years: adopt a formal, mandatory process for independent economic impact statements. Legislating based on good intentions is not enough. You must be required to see and understand the full impact of legislation on jobs, small businesses, and the broader economy before you vote, not after the damage is done. We need data-driven, responsible governance, not this.
Thank you.