New York City bans roll down metal gates – hooray!

Can we pass a similar ordinance in the city of Boston?

From the New York Times:

The New York City Council voted on Monday to “gradually ban the use of roll-down metal security gates, a move that would eliminate what has been an enduring if forbidding feature of the urban streetscape.”

The bill would require that after July 1, 2011, any roll-down gate that is being replaced must be replaced with a gate that allows at least 70 percent of the covered area to be visible. By July 1, 2026, all of the businesses covered by the legislation must have the new higher-visibility gates installed.

At one point in time, Boston did attempt to get rid of the gates. The city reimbursed store owners for the cost of removing the grates up to some pre-determined amount. Many shops took advantage of the offer and downtown neighbors were the better for it.

It seems to me that I’m seeing more and more grates being put up these days, even as our crime rate continues to fall.

Shame, that.

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3. Paris is a city of 2 million people; otherwise, imagine this was Boston
4. NYC gives $25 million to non-profit theater group; would Boston do this?
5. City of Boston property tax rates 2010 will mean higher bills for many homeowners