By Olivia Scheck and Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producers
MANHATTAN — Mayor Michael Bloomberg postponed signing a bill Monday that would crack down on sidewalk ATMs for fear of being seen as a "Grinch."
Bloomberg said he wanted more time to consider the legislation, which would slap property owners with hefty fines for allowing the ATMs to stand outside their buildings.
"I'm not sure that I've been convinced to go one way or another," Bloomberg said at a bill signing ceremony at City Hall. "There are two sides to everything."
He told both sides not to get their hopes up.
"I really am, at this point, torn in two different directions," he said, adding that he is open to negotiating "something that better addresses the concerns."
"I don't want to be the Grinch that stole Christmas," he said.
Sidewalk ATMs that sit beyond a building's property line are already illegal, but the legislation under consideration would vastly increase violation fines.
Currently, Department of Transportation workers can issue fines of $250 for illegally placed ATMs; under the new law, first-time offenders would be slapped with fines ranging between $2,500 and $5,000 after 30 days, with an additional $5,000 tacked on for every five days that the ATM goes unmoved.
If an owner accrues at least $50,000 in fines over a 90-day period, the department can seize the machine.
The bill passed the City Council by a unanimous vote earlier this month.
"It's a piece of legislation that responds to quality of life complaints we received from neighborhoods all across the city. People want the power to have these illegal ATMs taken off the streets, our legislation gives the city the power and the tools to make this illegal behavior end," Council Speaker Christine Quinn said Monday when asked about the bill.
The bill comes amid an ongoing crackdown on stand-alone sidewalk signage, such as "A-frame" signs advertising restaurant specials, which officials say block pedestrian traffic. Some business owners in Greenwich Village said they considered the $100 fine a "cost of doing business," choosing to pay the penalty and keep the revenue-generating ads.
A previous version of the ATM bill focused on customer safety issues, like muggings and identity theft, rather than sidewalk congestion.
The push to crack down on sidewalk ATMs followed a report by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, which found that nearly a quarter of the city's ATMs were non-bank, sidewalk ATMs.
Stringer's report recorded seven outdoor ATMs on just two blocks of Bleecker Street in the West Village, and a staggering 70 ATMs on East 13th and East 14th streets between First Avenue and Avenue B alone.
