NY Bill: Business Signs Must Be in English

The teeming streets of Flushing, Queens, can feel like a different country. A booming Chinese population exists alongside a longtime Korean enclave. Sidewalks are jammed with shoppers browsing and haggling in stores offering everything from iPhones to herbal remedies to fragrant dumplings. But to some, the area can feel a little too foreign: Two city councilmen are drafting legislation that would require store signs in the city to be mostly in English. They say police officers and firefighters need to be able to quickly identify stores.

The change also would protect consumers, while allowing local shops to expand outside their traditional customer base, the council members argue. But merchants say it would be an unnecessary and costly burden on small businesses and would homogenize diverse pockets of the city that cater mostly to immigrant residents. The first bill would allow inspectors to enforce a little-known state law that requires businesses to display their names in English; the second stipulates that the sign should be at least 60% English. (More New York stories.)