Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Koo and Halloran introduce sign legislation
From the Daily News:
City Councilmen Peter Koo (R-Flushing) and Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) plan to introduce a bill next week that would force shopkeepers to change their awnings if at least 60% of the writing isn't in English. The bill is intended to quell a culture clash between homegrown residents and new immigrants.
"We have to make sure people know about these stores. We want to help these businesses expand and help them attract more tourists," Koo said.
The English signage will also help cops and firefighters, Halloran said.
"Our public safety officers need to know exactly where they need to respond to and what their surroundings will be when they enter the location," he said.
A separate bill introduced this month by Halloran and Koo would allow the city Department of Consumer Affairs to close the loopholes on a preexisting law that requires key information to be displayed in English in the store.
Shopkeepers will have up to four years to upgrade their signage under the proposal.
28 comments:
Nice spoof. Real funny. You almost had me there.
Halloran is just trying to take the curse off his bad reputation of siding with Gambino mobster associates (Whitehouse Restaurant) and his known philandering practices.
And Peter Koo thinks this will bring actually encourage tourists to come to Flushing?
Is he daft?
Flushing is strictly an Oriental province.
The only tourism they can attract here is Asian businessmen who can already read the current Asiatic signage.
The "round eyes" and "ghost people" (us "Whites") have dropped Flushing a long time ago as a destination for shopping or living.
Orientals can continue to pack its fetid streets until it bursts with unsanitary restaurants and and high rise residential warehouses.
At least, Halloran and Koo are trying to face this issue. Compare this to Meng and Stavisky, who, as a solution, put together an English-Chinese pamphlet to hand out to shoppers.
"The only tourism they can attract here is Asian businessmen who can already read the current Asiatic signage."
I've seen hipsters on main street and Manhattanites (you can spot them from a mile away ESPECIALLY when they're on main street) as well in and around main street. They're probably into that whole "dark tourism" thing or maybe they're trying to get a real feel/"melting pot"/immigrant neighborhood is really like. Not like their faggy tofu/ogranic fixed gear bike neighborhoods in Lower Manhattan/north west Brooklyn.
Great idea (but about 20 years too late). Sadly, it will be ignored by businesses and non-enforced by the city like all the other similar signage already on the books.
"We have to make sure people know about these stores. We want to help these businesses expand and help them attract more tourists."
LOL, I'm a tourist!!!!
4 years? How many of these stores last 4 years???
What? No room for Espanol?
Kudos to Halloran & Koo for contibuting to the making of English as our official language.
im not asian but i dont know how i feel about this.If the buisness wants to keep it in a foreign language whos the gov't to say otherwise.EXCEPT!!!!
i kinda like the case they say it would help pd/fd identify these places.
im not asian but i dont know how i feel about this.If the buisness wants to keep it in a foreign language whos the gov't to say otherwise.EXCEPT!!!!
i kinda like the case they say it would help pd/fd identify these places.
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Who gives a shit what your ethnicity is...although I strongly suspect that you've suspended the truth. The fact is that there are laws on the books already. Why aren't they being enforced instead of all this hype generated by elected officials. Is there a part of smokescreen that you need to have explained? Actually, your post made you sound like a moron!
Bravo Dan Halloran
OK, thanks guys for changing 60% of the sign to English. What about the other 40%, what language is proposed for that?
Just like the Republicans to create more red tape for small businesses. What's next? I feel excluded because I can't read the Greek, Russian, Spanish and Italian newspapers. Let's force those to be translated also because it's sinful that Americans could even think about using a language other than English.
There is a high percentage of these shop owners' kids going to the best high schools and Ivy league colleges. I think they're assimilating fine.
I wouldn't shop in a store that can't be bothered to communicate what it is in English. But if this forces them to put SOMETHING on the signage that enables FDNY to get there in the event of a fire, then I approve. Not because I care so much about shopkeepers who can't bother with English, but because innocent people could be hurt.
That said, I wouldn't shop in Flushing if they were giving away the stuff.
I'll bet anyone here a dollar that this bill never becomes a law because it's bad policy and illegal.
Emergency responders go to addresses, not name of stores. Next time you need the police, tell them to come to the "Martin" residence and see how long it takes them to get there.
I bet Halloran's FDNY not being able to find the fur store being robbed story is as phony as his imaginary Department of Transportation employees who said they were on a work slow down during the snow storm.
Actually, its already required under NYS law to have the signs on English. This ordinance just assigns responsibility for enforcement to the DCA. It helps if you know what you're talking about.
Pardon me, "in" English.
Has nothing to do with where first responders are dispatched. It has to do with knowing what tools might be needed to fight a fire based on what type of business it is.
Also helps if you are trying to file a complaint against a business or if you are trying to verify their business license.
You would first need to do the impossible -- a law or constitutional amendment to establish English as the official language of New York State. Where is the authority in law to privilege English over Chinese? Would this apply to Chinatown -- which basically is now Fulton Street to Bleecker Street?
For Flushing, I'd say it's about 30 years too late. Some Chinese-only signage was present there in 1981.
What's all the BS about! If you don't like Asian business practices, stop doing business with them. Start with you're favoite Chinese food dive.
Tower of Babel, anyone?
Tower of Babel, anyone?
So true!
This argument of "safety" for emergency services is a cheap mask for the fact that people just do not like to see asian languages displayed predominantly in their neighborhoods. I say this because in traveling up Northern Blvd through the 150's through the 170's, while I see a majority of signage in korean, I don't see one business that does not have a simple English sign denoting what the business is. People are so offended by the sight of so much korean, they overlook the fact that almost all these businesses describe what they are in English. What more do you need? That's right, is should have the majority of signage in English so us round eyes feel comfortable, and the truly naive among us can feel "welcome" to patronize these business.
One thing this law shows us is despite owning all the prime business real estate in Flushing, the Koreans don't have serious political clout- yet.
I find this argument fascinating. No, let's encourage them to not assimilate and stay isolated! That sure will help the city.
your anti-Halloran tirade is bogus. get your agencies correct. it was the Department of Sanitation employee's, driving snow plows with raised shovels who
never touched the snow,after three days.
i saw the act on my deadend street north to the L.I.R.R/.
it was a D.O.S. union slowdown, and no plow was driven by M.Bloomberg.
deal with it,liberal sicko.
Until the DOS guys come forth and testif under oath, nothing happened. Did you get the truck nubers and idenify anyone? Until there's proof Halloran was making it up, for all we know.
Get your own facts straight, gramps.
I went to the new Katsu Ramen shop on main street the other week, but while the signs and menu were in English, the staff there barely understood anything I asked for.
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