The Main Street Deal

Owners and employees should not have to accept repeat theft, harassment, and violence as the cost of doing business.

• Won Int. 553-A

  Security technology assistance

  A city program that offsets the cost of cameras, plexiglass, and panic buttons for small retail businesses.

  For you: help paying for the security upgrades you've been putting off.

  Read our testimony
• In the Council Int. 623-2026

  Security pilot in high-theft zip codes

  SBS and the NYPD would install security measures at small businesses in the zip codes with the most retail theft.

  For you: city-installed security where it's needed most, at no cost to the owner.

  Read our testimony
• Our proposal

  Organized Retail Theft Transparency Act

  The NYPD and District Attorneys would publish quarterly data on organized theft rings and repeat commercial burglaries.

  For you: public pressure to fast-track the repeat offenders hitting your block.

• Our proposal

  Neighborhood Retail Safety & Coordination Act

  Creates a Small Business Director for Safety, required to work with the NYPD on an annual Retail Corridor Safety Plan: lighting, visible presence at peak hours, rapid response.

  For you: one person at City Hall whose job is the safety of your corridor.

The end of a lease is the biggest threat to a neighborhood business. Tenants deserve time to plan, and empty storefronts need tenants, not rent regulation that keeps them dark longer. Our research shows Manhattan storefronts sit empty for years, not months.

• In the Council Int. 90-2026

  Storefront Business Bill of Rights — support with changes

  We back its disclosure and fair-notice provisions. We oppose its mandatory lease-extension clause, which would push owners away from leasing to independent businesses at all. Heard September 16.

  For you: the parts that give you notice and information, without the part that shrinks your options.

  Read our testimony Read "Empty for Years, Not for Months"
• In the Council Shared City Act

  Shared housing in office conversions

  Legalizes shared housing in converted Class B and C office buildings, bringing residents to blocks where ground-floor retail is struggling.

  For you: more neighbors walking past your door, seven days a week.

• Our proposal

  Commercial Tenant Right-to-Know Act

  Owners would hand over a standard disclosure packet before you sign: Certificate of Occupancy status, open violations, and the space's past uses.

  For you: no surprises about the space after you've signed.

• Our proposal

  Commercial Lease Fair Notice Act

  At least 120 days' written notice of non-renewal or a major rent increase, plus a model lease rider from SBS on repairs and pass-through costs.

  For you: four months to plan instead of four weeks.

• Our proposal

  Storefront Vacancy Transparency & Incentive Act

  Landlords register long-term vacant ground-floor spaces with the city, and get tax abatements or grants for signing long-term leases with independent businesses.

  For you: fewer dark storefronts next to yours, and a reason for owners to sign with you.

Too many storefronts are buried under confusing rules, inconsistent inspections, and escalating fines for signage and paperwork rather than real public harm. Compliance should come before punishment.

• Won Local Law 132 of 2026

  Red Tape Relief Act

  Revives the New Business Acceleration Team: one point of contact coordinating inspections and plan reviews across agencies, with public reporting on how long openings take.

  For you: open weeks sooner, with one city contact instead of five.

• Our proposal With Council Member Thomas-Henry

  OATH proof-of-cure portal

  An online system where you upload proof you fixed a violation, reviewable by any agency. We're asking for agency response deadlines, cure instructions printed on the summons, public reporting, and a mobile-friendly, multilingual design.

  For you: fix it, photograph it, upload it. No day lost at a hearing.

• Our proposal

  30-day cure for straw and Skip the Stuff violations

  A 30-day cure period for first violations of the plastic straw and stirrer rules and Skip the Stuff, routed through the proof-of-cure portal.

  For you: a warning first on the two rules restaurants get fined for most.

• In the Council Int. 875-2026

  Permit timelines and real-time tracking

  Sets deadlines for permit approvals, lets you track status in real time, and holds agencies accountable for delays. The Chamber leads the coalition for this bill.

  For you: know where your permit is and when the city owes you an answer.

• Our proposal

  Cure-First Small Business Protection Act

  Every city enforcement agency would issue a warning and a time-to-cure period for first-time, non-hazardous violations before any fine.

  For you: a chance to fix it before you pay for it.

• Our proposal

  Small Business Ombuds Office

  An independent office with the authority to break multi-agency permitting gridlock and pause penalties while you fix a problem in good faith.

  For you: someone with real power to call when you're stuck between agencies.

• Comment filed DCWP click-to-cancel rule, in effect Oct. 1

  Cure period for the new subscription rule

  With Tech:NYC and all five borough chambers, we asked the City for a cure period before penalties, simple guidance, and outreach to the platforms most owners use.

  For you: if you sell memberships or subscriptions, check your cancellation flow now. Need help? bizhelp.nyc.

• Comment filed DOB rule 2026 RG 031, hearing Oct. 5

  Netting instead of sidewalk sheds

  Lets building owners use containment netting in place of sidewalk sheds. We support it and asked for clear criteria and a fast path for storefront-heavy blocks.

  For you: fewer years under a shed that hides your sign.

  Read our comment

Main Street cannot absorb endless new costs, and those costs show up as higher prices for residents and fewer neighborhood jobs. The grille gate mandate showed what happens when a 17-year-old law lands on owners with two months' notice.

• Won Passed 51–0, June 30, 2026

  Grille gate mandate repealed

  The Council repealed the July 1 deadline requiring solid roll-down gates to be replaced with 70%-visibility grilles. Existing gates are grandfathered. The rule applies only when a gate is newly installed or replaced.

  For you: keep your gate. No replacement bill, no DOB summons.

• In progress Executive Order 11

  Citywide fee and fine review

  Seven agencies were ordered to inventory their fees and civil penalties and recommend reductions. The July "OPEN for Small Business" package proposed more than 50 reforms.

  For you: we'll tell you which fees drop and when, and keep pushing on the rest.

• Our proposal

  Commercial Rent Tax threshold increase

  Raises the base-rent threshold for the Commercial Rent Tax, which hits businesses south of 96th Street, so more small shops pay nothing.

  For you: if you're below 96th Street, a tax you may stop paying.

• Our proposal

  Main Street Mandate Offset Act

  Any new local law that adds a fee, surcharge, or mandate on local businesses must include a small-business phase-in or financial offset.

  For you: new rules come with time or money to meet them.

Outdoor dining, the grille gate mandate, and sidewalk sheds all followed the same pattern: rules passed without counting the cost to storefronts, until the closures started. Before the City adds a burden, it should show the real small-business consequences.

• Our proposal Five Borough Jobs Campaign

  Local Economic Impact Analysis

  Lets the Council request a published economic analysis of a pending bill, prepared by the Finance Division with the Independent Budget Office, with public comment before a final vote. Backed by the Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island Chambers, the Chinatown Partnership, and the Sunset Park BID in a September letter to Speaker Menin.

  For you: the Council sees what a bill costs your business before it votes.

  Read the coalition letter
• In the Council Speaker Menin

  Quadrennial Regulatory Review Commission

  A commission chaired by a small business representative that reviews the rules of seven agencies every four years and recommends ways to ease permitting and cut fines and fees. It delivers much of the operator review board we proposed; we're asking that storefront operators hold a majority of the public seats.

  For you: a standing seat at the table when the rules get rewritten.

• In the Council Intro 879-2026

  Short-term rental reform for owner-occupied homes

  Amends Local Law 18 so registered one- and two-family homeowners can host up to four guests, with a lockable bedroom and hosting while they travel. All five borough chambers asked the Council to act. Heard September 30.

  For you: visitors who can find a room nearby shop, eat, and drink on your block.

  Read our testimony