The city now has the power to crack down on 1,000 illegal billboards that have spread like weeds along busy roadways in recent years, under a law signed yesterday by Mayor Bloomberg.
Officials said the previous law governing billboards, passed in 2001, contained a monumental loophole that allowed outdoor advertising companies to challenge fines imposed by the Buildings Department.
As a result of the revised law, Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster vowed her agency will soon pursue actions against about 1,000 unauthorized billboards – which critics say are an unsightly assault on the eyes.
The old law, said the mayor, “was scorned by the industry and proved ineffective for many reasons.”
Advertising companies now have until July 1 to register all billboards near arterial highways or public parks.
Outdoor ads within 200 feet of either highways or parks are banned and fines range up to $25,000 per summons.
“We’ve given them pretty significant fines because you’re talking about a lot of money [in billboard income],” said one Buildings Department official.
One industry insider said an illuminated billboard in Times Square can command $150,000 to $200,000 a month.
Billboards along such major highways as the Long Island Expressway typically go for $20,000 to $40,000 a month.
One former city official recalled talking in the late 1990s with the owner of some 20 billboards who faced enforcement actions by the city.
“He said, ‘All of ’em are illegal, but can I save just this one?’ ” the official recalled.
It was at the Manhattan-bound entrance of the Queens Midtown Tunnel and was earning an astonishing $919,000 a month.
City Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-Queens), sponsor of the new law, said the billboard industry took advantage of a provision in the old law that required the Buildings Department to develop a registry of firms that voluntarily agreed to remove illegal signs.
The firms never removed the signs and the department never developed the registry. When they were fined, many simply went to court and had the penalties overturned on the grounds that there were no regulations in place.
One government official said the industry was split on putting real teeth into the law.
“Some wanted it, some hated it,” said the official. “Companies with a lot of legal signs wanted the city to go after the illegals.”
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The new billboard law
* Billboards not allowed within 200 feet of highways and parks.
* Outdoor advertising companies have until July 1 to register billboards near major roads and parks.
* Fines up to $25,000 for each violation
* Estimated 1,000 illegal billboards
* Billboards along major highways like the LIE rent for $20,000 to $40,000 a month, while those in Times Square can cost up to $200,000 a month.
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Holland Tunnel: $20,000-$40,000 a month
Midtown Tunnel: $20,000-$40,000 a month
W. Side Highway: $20,000-$40,000 a month (s, lcf)
Lincoln Tunnel: $20,000-$40,000 a month (m)