Bloomberg-Quinn City Budget Fines Outer Borough Businesses

Bill de Blasio report finds that New York City's Quinn-Bloomberg budget deal rakes in $50 million in fines from small businesses in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.

Small businesses in the outer boroughs have been crushed by ever-more-expensive fines, according to a new report from Public Advocate and mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio.

"The farther you get from City Hall, the more likely your business is to get inspected and fined,” de Blasio said Thursday in his latest broadside against the man he hopes to replace. “That's no way to balance a budget and it's no way to spur hiring in the boroughs that need it most.”

De Blasio’s 25-page report, called "Borough Bia$: How the Bloomberg Administration Drains Outer Borough Businesses," is an analysis of data on small business fines that Public Advocate obtained through a lawsuit against the administration. (Daily News)

No word, yet, from New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, on the mendacity of her press releases about the "no new taxes" in last year's city budget deal.

Street Vendors Target Christine Quinn

Stickin stickers on Canal Street! #dearspeakerquinn twitter.com/VendorPower/st…

— StreetVendorProject (@VendorPower) January 22, 2013

New York's vendors face $1,000 fines for minor infractions. But City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has the power to help make things right - but she does not. Why ?

From the Street Vendor Project :

Dear Speaker Quinn,

In 2006, the Bloomberg administration quadrupled penalties on licensed street vendors, from a maximum of $250 to a maxiumum of $1,000 per ticket. After filing two lawsuits which were successful but only temporary, the Street Vendor Project turned to City Council for permanent relief. In November 2010, Council Member Stephen Levin introduced two bills to lessen the fines. Intro 434 lowers the maximum fines from $1,000 to $250. Intro 435 makes sure that fines escalate only on vendors who repeatedly commit the same infraction.

The past two years, SVP has had countless meetings with council members, chambers of commerce, and community board members. We wrote boatloads of letters. We gathered thousands of signatures. We made videos. We got a ton of press. Eventually, in April 2012, the City Council Consumer Affairs Committee held a public hearing on Intros 434, 435, and several other vendor bills. Hundreds of vendors turned out to show their support. Many immigrants’ rights and other organizations testified in favor. The University of Wisconsin even published a study showing that reducing fines would increase revenue to the city’s coffers. Yes, lowering fines would increase revenues, because vendors could actually pay them!

And yet, more then six months later, the bills have not received a vote. Why not? Christine Quinn, the Council Speaker, controls whether a vote is called. She is a supporter of easing burdensome regulations on small businesses. She has indicated that her office is “looking into“ whether to lower the fines. Yet, like with other bills, she seems to be dragging her feet. To help give her a push (and show that vendors are highly visible in the public realm and therefore powerful), SVP is posting hundreds of signs on vending carts all over the city.

Support vendors? PLEASE HELP by visiting the Street Vendor Project page and take action now.

Bill De Blasio Pledges To Support Small Businesses

Public Advocate Has Sued The Bloomberg Administration To Expose Budgetary Fees That Over-Bill Small Businesses

Bill de Blasio, the Public Advocate For New York City, is running for mayor in 2013, and one of the central issues of his campaign's platform is making it easier for small companies to do business in New York City. This focus on small businesses is winning him some serious attention.

To achieve that end, Mr. de Blasio has filed a lawsuit against the Bloomberg administration for "data on city revenues from fines, which have nearly doubled in the last decade," according to The New York Times.

“If small-business people in this city did not have those additional burdens, if they could depend on not being socked with those additional charges, it would be easier for them to grow, it would be easier for them to employ more people — it’s as simple as that,” Mr. de Blasio said.

By focusing on the city budget policies that are approved annually by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Mr. de Blasio is trying to find a more "populist" voice. Each year, Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn engage in an annual city budget charade, which distracts voters on illusionary controversies, such as proposed closings to firehouses. These distractions take attention away from the kinds of taxes and fees that are included in the city budget, but which hurt small businesses.

Hopefully, in the wake of the disaster from Hurricane Sandy, Mr. de Blasio will come to the rescue of small businesses.