NYC Will Start Fining Businesses That Blast AC Out Into The Streets

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There’s nothing quite like walking down the street on a hot, muggy day in the middle of August in New York City, only to walk past a store with its doors open and feel a quick blast of arctic air. But as nice as that might feel, it’s not so great for the environment. To combat all that leaking air, come summer, NYC is going to enforce a new law that require stores to keep their doors shut when the AC is on.

Business owners who break the new law will face fines ranging from $250 for the first offense, to $1,000 for repeat violations. Restaurants with outdoor space are exempt, as are sidewalk cafes and walk-up counters.

“I know I’m not the only one who has walked past open doors to feel a blast of cold air pouring out. We don’t need to be cooling our sidewalks!” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press release. “By requiring businesses to simply close the door, this bill is a win on multiple fronts, and is a small, but important part of our efforts to fight climate change.”

Gothamist points out that this new law is actually an expansion of an older rule that said chain stores had to keep their doors shut when their cooling systems were on — a law that we can’t say we’ve noticed has had any effect on some stores, just based on those summer strolls.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist