Awning Crackdown Casts Shadow Over Corona Biz

The jungle of brightly-colored awnings competing for space along the busy commercial streets of Corona looks somewhat deforested lately, thanks to a flurry of summonses issued by the Department of Buildings (DOB) for awnings that violate size, aesthetic or installation requirements.
City laws regulating everything from awning permits to lettering size have been on the books for decadesjust as long as many of the violation-prone awnings have been up.
But according to City Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Corona) over 100 summonses for awning violations have been issued in the last six months to small business owners in his district, many of them immigrants who say that they never knew the laws to begin withand that DOB hasnt made it easy for them to be in compliance.
"We dont know nothing. The law is the law, but we get no announcement from the city," said Felix Diaz, owner of J & N Records, a music shop on 103rd Street specializing in Latin sounds.
Diaz was hit with two summonses this month for his awning, which was larger than what is permitted for his storefront. He took it down after finally receiving the summonses, which had been given to his landlord weeks beforeleaving him hardly any time to comply with the summonses or replace the sign. One estimate he received for a new awning was for $1,450.
"I have never seen, in all the years that Ive lived in Queens, a similar type of crackdown on awnings," said Monserrate, who introduced legislation last week that would give business owners 90 days to correct non-emergency awning infractions before receiving a summons, and 30 days to do so after being ticketed.
Sid Dinsay, a spokesman for DOB, denied that the agency was cracking down on awnings and said that summonses were issued based on public complaints.
"We went to those locations to check out those complaints, and where illegal conditions existed, we issued violations," he said.
Monserrate doubted that citizen complaints were driving the sweep, indicating that the citys budget shortfall was to blame.
"The fact that were in a deficit crisis raises suspicions," he said. "If they want more money, this is not the way to do it."
Since the summonses were issued, several storefronts have been forced to take down their awnings, a move that shopkeepers say is hurting business.
"This is unfair. They should give people time [to comply]," said Edith Quiroz, who was stocking shelves of toothpaste at the awningless Vivas Discount on 103rd Street.
"It lowers sales, because people pass by, looking for our address," she added.
Ruben Pea had to remove the awning from Cristal Liquors on National Street, where he has done business for 14 years.
"I had to put up [another] sign temporarily, because many of my customers asked me, Did you move?" said Pea.
As head of the Corona Business Corporation merchants association, he estimated that 15 business owners in his group had been summonsed for awning violations.
Pea himself was hit with eight summonses totaling $3,200. Unlike most of his fellow shopkeepers, Pea hired a lawyer to fight the fines, which he said were canceled after a judge found that the summonses had been improperly written and issued. Like other business owners interviewed, he said that the summonses were not given to him directly, and in his case were left under the door of his shop.
"They are giving tickets, and nobody knows exactly what the Buildings Department wants," said Pea.
Among other things, the department wants awnings to contain only the business name, address and phone numberand says its vigilance is necessary to make sure that improperly installed awnings dont become a danger to the public.
"I completely dispute any type of argument that this is a safety issue," said Monserrate.