It’s curtains for the city’s ubiquitous roll-down, metal storefront gates.
Calling them eyesores and a magnet for graffiti the City Council yesterday unanimously passed a bill that requires any new gates installed after July 1, 2011 be “mesh” or grille-style gates. All gates have to be see-through by 2026. The move is, in part, meant to aid police and firefighters.
Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr., a major proponent of the bill, which is supported by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and others consider the gates a reminder of darker days in New York and add to the image of a city besieged by crime.
