The Law on Metal Gates That Nearly Everyone Forgot About

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New York Today

The Law on Metal Gates That Nearly Everyone Forgot About

In 2009, the City Council decided that roll-down metal gates could no longer be solid. The law goes into effect this summer, after 17 years.

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By

James Barron

April 24, 2026,

5:03 a.m. ET

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Good morning. It’s Friday. Today we’ll find out why some business owners say that a law passed 17 years ago — and set to take effect this July 1 — should be revised. We’ll also get details on the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the deadly runway collision at LaGuardia Airport last month.

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Kholood Eid for The New York Times

Roll-down gates, which wall off storefronts after closing time the way a theater curtain walls off the stage between acts, have long been fixtures of the urban streetscape in New York — unsightly to some, irresistible to others who have spray paint and artistic flair and see them as canvases.

When the City Council took up a bill to ban them, the vote was unanimous.

That was in 2009. The measure set a deadline far in the future — this July 1, 69 days from now.

Now, as the deadline approaches, there is resistance. At least one City Council member is drafting a measure that would require only new installations to meet the standard set by the 2009 law. It said that gates could no longer be solid steel curtains. People had to be able to see through them from the street.

“It’s been 17 years,” said Randolph Peers, the president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. “In some cases, businesses forgot about the law. In other cases, even with new installations, nobody was advising businesses that they needed to be in compliance.” He estimated that only 10 percent to 15 percent of businesses in Brooklyn met the requirements.

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