Mayor Mamdani signs executive order to reduce city fees for small business owners
The mayor signed an executive order aimed at cutting fees and fines, which business owners are praising.
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Mayor Mamdani is now taking steps to ease the financial burden on small business owners.
The mayor signed an executive order aimed at cutting fees and fines, which business owners are praising.
Business owners say running a small business in New York City is no easy feat, including juggling rent prices, doing payroll, inventory - and the long list of fees and fines from the city.
“It's nerve racking and then it causes a lot of anxieties,” said Myriam Nicolas, the owner of Brown Butter Creamery. "It's hard enough to stay open day to day and manage your business with everything that goes into running a typical business, then to get hit with fines you may not be able to afford.”
Myriam Nicolas has owned Brown Butter Creamery for the past four years.
While she says her shop has recently avoided some fines for things, like health inspections, fire safety and other mandates, that was not always the case.
“The fees are astronomical,” said Nicolas. “It's not like small amounts of fees, and some of those fees weren't even for anything major. Any small violation was associated with some type of fee. And then on top of the fee, sometimes there's penalties..”
Now, the mayor is directing city agencies to take a closer look at those costs. A new executive order requires agencies to create an inventory of every fee and fine imposed on small businesses—and identify which ones can be reduced or eliminated.
“I think that's a good thing,” said Brods, owner of Wadadli Jerk. “I think it's something that should have happened in the last administration and it is cool that our new mayor has decided to do this as one of the first things.”
Brods says he already has some suggestions in mind.
“There should be a cap based on the revenue,” said Brods. “If you're making $500,000 a year, should your fees be the same as someone that's making $10 million a year? If you have a 100-square-foot space, should you be paying the same as someone who had 500 square feet?”
Business owners say this is not the first time a mayor has committed to creating an inventory of fines, but they hope this time around real measurable action will follow.
“What will make this different is that this is not an additional concern of ours,” said Mayor Mamdani at a press conference. “Rather, it is a central concern of our City Hall in that we want to make it easier not just to open the doors of a small business, but also to keep them open.”
“It would definitely help us a whole lot,” said Nicolas.
“Small businesses are the backbone of the community,” said Brods. “It’s important to make sure we continue to thrive.”
