Commercial Signage
From The Peopling of New York City
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Commercial Signage: A Contentious Issue
The issue of the predominately Asian language business signs in downtown Flushing has proved to be one that could ultimately be ever lasting. The main focus of the issue is whether the commercial signs within the Flushing business district have English on them, whether they make native-born English-speaking residents feel welcome and whether they are a form of indirect segregation and separation. Some residents feel that the signs in downtown Flushing create a sense of foreignness and it makes them feel unwelcome in their own neighborhood. At the same time, others argue that the signs are part of an ethnic neighborhood and they help recent immigrants settle into the United States. Others believe that the signs ought to be in English, for safety’s sake. Should the signs be entirely in English? Should some feel unwelcome in their own neighborhood? Is it merely native-born residents’ perception of the new Asian immigrants? Whatever it is, the issue surely is a conflict-sparking one. This piece will further explore the sides of debate and the evidence brought forth in regards to this issue.
There has been evidence that this issue has persisted since the 1980s, beginning with the major influx of Asian immigrants into the area. Middle-class and mainly white residents of the Flushing area began to express their outrage over the signs of the new businesses ran by recent immigrants. The signs were mainly in Korean or Chinese and often had no translation into English. There were several attempts at passing a bill to make it mandatory to have English on commercial signs, at least to give a description of the business. This is said to have helped to foster more conflict over the issue as many felt that it was directly aimed at the Asian businesses signs.
Proponents of Commercial Signage Legislation
“I happen to believe that although English isn’t the official language of the country, it is the predominant language” says Councilman Tony Avella. According to Smith & Logan (2006), Asians made up 51.9% of the population of Flushing in the year 2000. That still left 20% Hispanics, 4.5% Non-Hispanic blacks, and 23.1% non-Hispanic Whites in the area. Although the numbers may have changed over the past eight years, it is still safe to say that many residents in Flushing do not speak or read any Asian languages. These foreign signs particularly upset older non-Asian residents, since the influx of Asian immigrants didn’t begin until the mid 1970’s, and significant Asian business didn’t boom until the 1990’s. Before, most of the businesses were owned by English-speaking people. This change in business ownership, particularly in Downtown Flushing, is causing many of the older residents to feel excluded and not welcomed in their own home because they do not understand what the signs say, and are sometimes not even serviced by stores who are owned by people of a different ethnicity. Ken Westerfield, a resident of Whitestone, was quoted in a 2004 article in the New York Times standing on Northern Boulevard wondering what type of business was advertised by an awning that included only “Now” and “24 Hours” on its front.
Tony Avella believes strongly in promoting a “good neighbor policy”. He worked on a bill that requires every foreign sign to have an English equivalent in order to help older residents feel more welcomed in their home while at the same time allowing these foreign business owners to celebrate their ethnicity. It is also a better business tactic since the stores would then be able to attract a wider ethnic range of customers. These small shops generally serve the local community of people who don’t drive and can easily walk a block to two to get what they need, so the non-Asian speakers wouldn’t feel as if they are being pushed out of their neighborhood by new businesses coming in with signs that they don’t understand.
Criticism
The Commercial Signage legislation has met opposition from many individuals and groups, such as City Councilman John Liu and business owners, mainly Chinese and Korean, in Flushing. The Commercial Signage legislation, advocated by City Councilman Tony Avella, would call for at least 50 percent English on store signs with uniform font [1]. Gradually the signs would be grandfathered in, meaning only new signs would be required to comply with the new law (since signs usually have a lifespan of 2-3 years).
Fire and Police Safety Issues
According to Tony Avella, having a sign that describes the type of business that is being run helps firefighters and police officers overcome public safety issues. For example, if a printing press was on fire, it has many chemicals that are dangerous and flammable. In that situation, Avella argues that by having descriptive signs of the business would be beneficial and potentially life saving for the firefighters who enter into those types of situations. However, according to John Choe, Chief of Staff for John Liu, there have not been any police officers or firefighters who have complained about signs disrupting their ability to serve. In addition, according to John Choe, common sense can solve many of these problems. “If you see printers in a store, you can assume that it is a printing press or if you see flowers in a store, you can assume it’s a florist.”
Exclusion of different ethnic groups
Exclusion of different ethnic groups is another issue brought up by advocates. Many constituents have complained to Tony Avella about feeling like they are in a foreign country because all the signs have different languages and that they are unwelcome in their own neighborhood. Paul Gratziano, an urban planner who helps Tony Avella with zoning issues, claimed that Korean delis discriminated customers if they were not Asian. In a New York Times article by Corey Kilgannon, Kilgannon interviewed a white resident who expressed similar discontent with Korean stores and their signs. “A lot of white people who’ve grown up here resent Koreans setting up businesses that sell only to other Koreans, buy from other Koreans and do business only with other Koreans.”, said Ken Westerfield, 38, of Whitestone. [2] Critics of the legislation argue that most of these stores welcome any customer regardless of race. “Why would a storeowner not accept money from a non-Asian? Does it make much sense for a business?” said John Choe. Nyung Park, an owner of Jangsoo Stone Bed and Furniture, said, “I think all store signs, it’s good to have English. You get more customers.” [3]
John Liu's Task Force On Commercial Signage
- In John Liu’s Taskforce on Commercial Signage study, it was found that out “of 293 businesses in the area, 83 percent are identified by exterior signage containing English which accurately describes the products or services of that business, 12 percent had exterior signage containing English that was not descriptive of the business, and 5 percent had no English on their sign”. To see if the claims were true, we decided to do a short informal study around Flushing as well 5. Out of 59 store signs surveyed, 51 of them had English that was descriptive and had significant space allotted for English, while 4 of them had no descriptive English of the store and 4 had no English whatsoever. Our study reinforces Councilman Liu’s study.
- The Taskforce concluded that since only 5 percent of stores had no English on their signs, then it was simply a matter of perception. Because of the increasing visibility of this issue, business owners have already voluntarily put English in their signs. Since many of these stores already have English on them, then it seems redundant to come up with this legislation. The fact that more than 90 percent of the signs have some form of English leads one to believe that storeowners are trying to attract customers from any ethnicity or group. “There is always going to be a small percentage of business owners who are not going to try to be inclusive but we can’t necessarily control that. From our perspective, it’s a business decision that we believe is erroneous. It does not make any business sense to reduce the number of customers.”
- John Choe points out that, “This issue has been around for a 100 years and the same arguments have been used in the past such as public safety issues and feelings of exclusion. When the Italians and the Irish came to New York City, the white Anglo Saxon Protestants had the same animosity that some of the white residents of Flushing have towards the Asians now. ” Simply put, part of the animosity towards the newcomers may just be xenophobia but John Choe is careful to point out that not every single issue revolves around race. It may simply be a class issue or a result of miscommunication or lack of communication between these different groups.
Conclusion
Whatever the underlying causes of this extremely complicated issue; a fundamental consensus must be drawn in order to foster a compromise for both sides of the debate. In order for all stakeholders in the community to get along, this compromise must occur before Flushing becomes either a place for extreme, and possibly violent, tension or a neighborhood where many of the native-born will just pack up and leave. This decision is up to the policy makers and the residents of New York City and it is hoped, on all sides, that they can come to some sort of agreement to end this bitter struggle.
The commercial signage issue, however, will doubtlessly remain a contested issue and only with further cooperation among all the stakeholders in Flushing will the issue ever be completely resolved. However, it looks as if proponents have been losing, since Councilman Avella mentioned that only six other City Council members signed onto his legislation. It is also important to note that because of this controversy, most store owners have voluntarily decided to implement English into store signs, thus making the legislation redundant and unnecessary. In addition, the Liu signage study concluded that since 95 percent had English on stores, there is no need to implement this legislation. It is doubtful that the bill will be passed and the status quo of voluntary English signs will remain intact.
Works Cited
1. City Councilor Avella's Legislation Int 0008-2006
2. Kilgannon, Corey. 2004. "Ethnic Friction Over Signs That Lack Translations," New York Times, January 10. [4]
3. Smith, Christopher J. and John R. Logan, 2006. “Flushing 2000: Geographic Explorations in Asian New York,” in From Urban Enclave to Ethnic Suburb, ed., Wei Li, University of Hawaii Press.
4. Our informal "visual" study of Downtown Flushing's commercial signage
- Some content taken from interviews with Chief of Staff for Councilman John Liu, John Choe; Councilman Tony Avella; and urban planning and historic preservation consultant Paul Graziano.