The City Council has passed legislation to prevent business owners from receiving 4-figure fines for awnings and signs being out of compliance with city building codes. In recent months, the NYC Department of Buildings started slapping the store owners with violations like never before. Many of the owners had their signs in place for years without issue. The “Awnings Act”, passed the city council in January and the Environmental Control Board will waive all outstanding fines now that Mayor de Blasio has signed the bill into law. The Council also enacted a 2-year moratorium on sign fines and requires the agency to provide education to business owners about the rules.