By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CITY HALL — Sidewalk ATMs are about to become a whole lot pricier than those pesky $2 fees — at least for property owners who fail to move them inside.
A new law passed unanimously by the City Council Wednesday significantly ups fines for so-called "rogue" ATMs, which sit outside of buildings' properly lines on the street. While the ATMs have long been illegal, fines were low and enforcement rare.
"Sidewalks are not a place for ATMs," said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who dubbed the common fixtures "Asking for Trouble Machines."
The bill's sponsor, Brooklyn Councilwoman Diana Reyna, called the machines "a nuisance," arguing that they clutter streets, take up valuable space, attract graffiti and leave consumers vulnerable to crime.
A 2009 report by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s office, entitled "Sidewalks Under Siege," surveyed 950 ATMs in Manhattan — a quarter of which were non-bank-affiliated sidewalk ATMs.
The report also found the machines tend to be found in clusters, with at least seven outdoor ATMs counted on two blocks of Bleecker Street between MacDougal and Thompson streets in the West Village, and a whopping 70 in the East Village on East 13th and East 14th streets between First Avenue and Avenue B alone.
Under the new legislation, property owners will have 30 days to remove the ATMs pending notice. Then they will face steep fines: $2,500 to $5,000 for the first day of non-compliance and an additional $5,000 for every five days thereafter, Quinn said.
Once a property owner has accrued $50,000 in fines over a 90-day period, the Department of Transportation will be permitted to seize the ATMs.
In addition to the new rule, the Council also voted to re-name 67 roads and public places, including seven in Manhattan.
The southwest corner of West 189th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, for instance, will now be known as Merlin German Way in honor of a Washington Heights Marine who was severely burned in Iraq by an improvised explosive device. He died three years later after being awarded a Purple Heart.
Other honorees include African-American world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson, who was sentenced to jail time for his relationship with white women, and Detective Omar Edwards, a police officer who was fatally shot chasing down a man who broke into his car.
Both bills must be signed into law by the mayor.
