Five years ago, I worked closely with then-Mayor de Blasio and the New York City Council to pull off a minor miracle: saving Woodhaven’s historic Neir’s Tavern. One of America’s oldest bars, Neir’s had weathered the Civil War and even Prohibition. But when our rent suddenly spiked in 2019, it looked like we wouldn’t make it. In January 2020, I tearfully told patrons it was closing time for Neir’s.
Thanks to city leaders’ Herculean efforts—for which I remain deeply grateful—Neir’s did make it. Since then, I’ve done everything I can to ensure it continues to be the vibrant community gathering place it’s been since 1829.
But now I’m worried that the proposed New York Privacy Act (NYPA) will make it tough to keep Neir’s thriving. NYPA is well-intentioned, but its strict limitations on data use would make it much harder for small businesses to market and advertise effectively, compete with bigger players, and succeed in today’s digital economy.
When I first bought Neir’s, I did most of my marketing through community outreach. That was effective and enjoyable, but it was much too time-consuming. So I started using social media and — critically — data-powered digital ads to remind people in the neighborhood to stop by.
Digital ads allow us to connect with people whose online activity shows they’re likely to be interested in visiting us. So if you’re in Woodhaven searching online for a cozy bar, or you’ve visited our website, you might get one of our ads. It’s really cost-efficient because we don’t waste money sending ads to people upstate, or who prefer a formal dining experience. Our advertising partners also give us data showing how people arrived at our website — say, through social media or by clicking on an ad. That helps us understand which marketing and advertising strategies work best, allowing us to make the most of our time and money, attract customers, and keep Neir’s hopping.
What digital ads don’t do is give us access to anyone’s sensitive or personally identifiable data. We want to meet and get to know you, but only when you come into Neir’s and say hello. However, it seems that suspicion of inappropriate data-sharing or “surveillance advertising” is driving legislators to over-regulate.
NYPA would dramatically restrict how small businesses like mine can use non-sensitive consumer data, including general location, language preference, and device type. That means we’d waste money sending ads that go to people in Manhattan, or show up on your phone in the wrong language or format. The result would be fewer customers and less revenue. NYPA would even prevent us from using data to understand which ads are most appealing to customers. Those restrictions would make it much harder for us to compete with big chain restaurants that have big advertising budgets.
At the same time, NYPA would saddle us with complicated, costly compliance requirements. In California, which has similar data-privacy rules, the government estimated the cost of small business compliance at over $50,000! Corporate restaurants might be able to afford that, but we can’t — especially when it’s coupled with higher advertising costs and diminished revenue.
Legislators supporting NYPA say it won’t impact small businesses, but that’s not the case. The law would cover any business that deals with more than 50,000 data points (like website clicks) annually. Almost any business with an online presence will easily exceed that threshold. And even if they don’t, their digital partners surely will — so the little guys will still get hurt.
I respect legislators’ desire to protect New Yorkers’ data. But data-powered ads are far less scary — and far more important to small businesses — than they may think. I urge legislators to listen to more stories like mine, and to carefully consider how NYPA would impact small New York businesses and the communities we value and serve.
* Loycent Gordon is the owner of Neir’s Tavern in Woodhaven and a retired FDNY lieutenant.
