Saturday, July 2, 2011
Solid metal gates on their way out
From NBC:
The metal roll-down gate on storefronts, part of New York City's landscape for decades, will be officially phased out starting Friday, when a law takes effect that requires new gates to be partially transparent.
All businesses will ultimately have to replace their current opaque gates, but have until July 1, 2026 to do so.
The City Council voted in 2009 to ban the solid gates as a quality of life measure.
Public Safety Committee Chair Peter Vallone, Jr., said at the time that the gates attracted graffiti and transformed city blocks into "dark, graffiti-strewn metal alleyways" when they were rolled down at night.
Vallone also claimed the opaque gates blocked the view of the store's interior, frustrating first responders during emergencies.
What Anthony couldn't accomplish, Peter did.
39 comments:
How about store owners just clean or paint over the graffiti.If you clean it as soon as possible,the graffit assholes eventually give up and move to another location
If you clean it as soon as possible,the graffit assholes eventually give up and move to another location
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Funny.
every kid in queens does graffiti, be thankful they have spray paint and something to do, otehrwise they would be breaking window's etc,, how about more funding for night centers? and other activities to keep teens off the street? especially duiring the summer!
That's funny. I grew up in Queens and never did graffiti. I also didn't need night centers or the government paying for programs for me to go to. It's called parenting. Look into it.
Anon No. 3:
The same with me. Never gave it the slightest thought.
i'm sorry queens crapper, not all the teens of queens spent there friday nights cuddleling up to a good book on a friday night. your right-i'm wrong
Bravo Peter
You said "every kid in Queens does graffiti". You're wrong, because most kids do not. I didn't cuddle up with a good book on Friday night, either. I went out, enjoyed myself and just didn't get stupid and I never felt the need to vandalize people's property.
Read "Defining deviancy down" by Daniel Patrick Moynihan and stop doing it.
So instead of writing graffiti on gates, kids can stick to walls and fences. Or are we going to legislate those away as well?
Those metal gates keep vandals from breaking the window glass.
How will they break the glass with the new gates? Do you really think they will take the time and effort to stick something into those slots?
Do you really think they will take the time and effort to stick something into those slots?
I don't know. Do you really think they will take the time, money, and effort to illegally obtain spray paint cans and spray caps just to scrawl on a wall or gate even though it will often be painted over? It sounds like you underestimate the mischievous nature of youths.
They can throw rocks or other objects through the holes. It would almost be like a carnival game.
I'm not saying it would be a widespread phenomenon, but the occasional random vandalism should not be surprising and the store owner will be left footing the bill.
Next they will be legislating that homeowners are required to leave a porch light on all night.
The slots on the gates are not large enough to allow a rock of the size necessary to break a window.
Graffiti is something that identifies the tagger, window breaking doesn't. In other words, it's not cool, which is why kids don't go through a lot of trouble to do it while they would with graffiti.
You could break a window with a rock the size of a marble- or with a marble- if you throw it hard enough.
It's not the same as graffiti for the vandals, but you still see broken store windows on occasion. Remember, a big crack in a clear glass storefront is still broken.
Yes, you still see cracks in windows, but that does not mean a vandal did it. Most of the time it's the result of an accident during normal business hours when the gates are up.
How will they break the glass with the new gates? Do you really think they will take the time and effort to stick something into those slots?
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I do. Absolutely. No doubt in my mind.
How will they break the glass with the new gates? Do you really think they will take the time and effort to stick something into those slots?
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I do. Absolutely. No doubt in my mind.
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Spoken like a true mastergater!
Wow. Crappy defending Vallone.
Crapmeisters take note.
I'm lucky enough that my shop already complies with this new law, but now I have a more expensive problem. The kids decided to use a pointed metal rod to scratch'itti their name into my window. Its a lot cheaper to put a coat of paint over a gate then to get a professional glass company in to either fill and buff the scratch or to replace the whole window.
This whole law must have been pushed through by the gate companies and glass companies to get more work. Small business development was not considered. The current city politicians would love it if there was Walmart on every block. If they keep nickel and dime-ing us with these "shopping bag recycling" laws and "roll gate" laws, now one will want to even start a small business here.
Again I quote the QC
"Do you really think they will take the time and effort to stick something into those slots?"
Apparently one local business owner disagrees with you.
Also, we are thinking in terms of our own fairly decent queens neighborhoods.
What about rougher neighborhoods like E. NY or the South Bronx? If you don't think kids won't break windows just for the fun of it then you haven't driven past any housing construction sites in these neighborhoods, where broken windows are practically guaranteed unless they are completely boarded over.
oops, I should have capitalized Queens.
oops, I should have capitalized Queens.
I capitalize on Queens every chance I get!!!
Scratchiti looks nowhere near as bad as graffiti. kids do that on the subway in broad daylight. I guess the subway should install roll down gates then. seriously, I can't believe people here want their neighborhoods to look like ghettos. My friend refuses to have any gate on his windows and has no Scratchiti and never has.
Metal tools and razor blades will not scratch glass. It's just not possible.
Subway windows have plastic coating on them that can be removed if vandalized. Real glass will not scratch and there is shatterproof glass.
My friend refuses to have any gate on his windows and has no Scratchiti and never has.
Yes, and your friend's business is likely in a decent area. If it was in parts of southern Queens or parts of Brooklyn or the Bronx, not having gates would quickly be an expensive lesson in why gates are needed.
You're still allowed to have gates. Just not the solid ones. Thousands of merchants in the city already have them. It's not a big deal for them to replace their current gate with one you can see through by 2026.
Crapper, I usually agree with you but not on this one. It is a big deal to replace gates. Most of the time they are behind signage. Some times removing the signage turns into replacing it instead of putting the same one back. In these tough times even a few hundred dollars is a lot to ask businesses to plunk down. Unfortunately replacing old gates costs more than few hundred.
To the people who feel a piece of metal can't scratch glass I invite you to Cook's Crafts in Glendale. I will share with you the video I have of the kid doing his Scratchitti on my window and show you the metal tool they use.
As preciously said, a coat of paint is cheaper in the long run than replacing gates or windows. The people and places that don't paint over the graffiti should be fined, then have their business licenses suspended and then eventually shut down completely.
Once again, the gates do not have to be replaced immediately. The old ones are grandfathered in through 2029 or something like that. The expense of installing a new gate will have gone up in that time anyway.
Metal tools will not scratch real glass, although some of these kids have diamond-tipped engraving pens that will and some glass is not actually glass but hard plastic that will scratch.
This brings up a question...why would you leave your cars out on the street at night since their glass is much more likely to be scratched? Cars are less protected than storefronts, don't have surveillance cameras, and the glass can be easily smashed as well as scratched. I don't hear people complaining about tinted windows being illegal even though they can hide the sight of your valuables. This is done for safety purposes. Well this new reg is the same thing.
Good one, troll.
How was that a troll comment? Because it brought up a question you can't answer?
No, it's a troll comment because people don't tint their windows to hide their valuables, and because peoples cars sometimes DO get vandalized and their windows broken.
The new law doesn't make anyone any safer either, its just a way to thwart graffiti at the expense of store owners.
Comparing store gates to tinted windows on moving vehicles is asinine and an obvious troll comment.
the gates attracted graffiti and transformed city blocks into "dark, graffiti-strewn metal alleyways" when they were rolled down at night.
What's next, legislation that stores must keep their lights on all night, or be required to operate surveillance cameras whether they want to or not?
The look of a community is part of quality of life, the eradication of ugliness is part of it. Leaving a light or camera on is not a quality of life issue. And yes, people do tint their windows so people can't see what or who is inside. It makes them less of a target. Problem is, it's caused the deaths of cops. The comparison is a valid one.
The look of a community is part of quality of life, the eradication of ugliness is part of it.
I like, so true
The look of a community is part of quality of life
If only people were honest enough to make this statement when they are arguing against storefronts in korean. Instead their hide their xenophobia behind claims of "safety".
The look of a community is part of quality of life, the eradication of ugliness is part of it.
I meant to quote the whole statement in the above comment.
The chinese landlord on Grand avenue near 84th st. refuses to clean the graffiti on the building and the gates. He doesnt have to clean it by law!
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