“It’s, like, just impossible to survive,” says Designer Revival owner Tiffany Keriakos.
On top of rampant shoplifting, burglary, taxes and regulations, she now faces a “pay me to go away” lawsuit over supposed violations of disabled-access law.
That could be the final straw pushing her to give up her business.
She’s far from alone: New York City makes it nearly impossible to be entrepreneurial.
If it’s not the brazen criminals and brutal taxes, it’s the near-impossible-to-navigate red tape or the predatory lawyers.
The legal shakedown: Keriakos sells lovely bags and other accessories; an attorney has filed suit on behalf of a blind man who claims her shop’s website violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The odds against this being a true potential customer are astronomical.
Bottom-feeding attorneys make bank on this junk: 2022 saw 2,560 website-accessibility suits filed in New York federal courts, easily leading the nation.
The Post has exposed some of these sharks, like Queens scam artist Arik Matatov, who walked around fine but took to a wheelchair to “try” entering businesses in order to set the stage for suits.
But there’s always more.
You can’t blame Keriakos for thinking about packing it in.
Heck, it’s a wonder the city’s bodegas manage to stay open, given state lawmakers’ refusal to address their modest pleas for support.
New York’s political class doesn’t even view the private sector as sheep to be fleeced — otherwise it’d make some effort to keep the herd healthy.
If the politicians don’t start focusing on improving the business climate soon, the city’s commercial tax base will enter a downward spiral — and soon enough there won’t be enough taxpayers left to bleed.
