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City Council members introduce 'Red Tape Relief Act' to speed small-business openings
Summary
Council members introduced the Red Tape Relief Act (Bill No. 955a), which would create a four‑year commission and a business-acceleration program to coordinate agency inspections and cut permitting delays; business groups and owners urged quick passage and mayoral sign-off.
Council Member Julie Menon, the speaker of the New York City Council, announced she will introduce the Red Tape Relief Act and called for sustained oversight to reduce fines and permitting delays that she said cost the city thousands of small businesses.
"On Thursday, I am introducing a bill that will topple some of the barriers for small businesses to succeed," Menon said, describing a commission that would meet every four years to recommend changes to city regulations, fines and permitting.
The bill — introduced in remarks by Council Member Susan Zhuang and identified in the discussion as Bill No. 955a — would create a program modeled after a "new business acceleration team" to bring multiple city agencies together, prioritize restaurants and child-care providers, and shorten the time it takes to open new enterprises.
"A well capitalized small business is a contradiction in terms," said Randy Pierce, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, praising what he called growing momentum for small-business reforms. "The delays must stop."
Council Member Chanel Thomas Henry, chair of the Council's Committee on Small Business, said the measure focuses on practical coordination across agencies while keeping health and safety standards in place. "By coordinating inspections and streamlining the process across agencies, we're removing unnecessary barriers," she said.
Business groups backed the proposal. Andrew Ritchie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, said uncoordinated agency guidance creates days- or weeks-long delays and urged the council to pass the legislation and the mayor to sign it quickly.
Local owners described concrete harms. "In 2022, my partners and I invested $2,000,000 to open this restaurant... four years later, we still cannot open," said Wafer Ling, co-owner of Managed Fusion in Coney Island, attributing the stall to pending gas service approval. Host Annie Hsieh, who owns several Manhattan restaurants, said most operators want to comply but cannot afford expediters or repeated delays.
The council scheduled a vote on companion measures for Thursday, and sponsors urged swift enactment to reduce the number of small-business closures and speed neighborhood economic activity.
Next steps: sponsors said the measure will be voted on Thursday and proponents urged the mayor to sign it into law.
