I appreciate all the responses but I think the misinterpretation is that this is not an RKBA case it's a commerce case.
Then why did you contact SAF? They don't deal in commerce cases.
As I understand it, here's the issue.
To conduct certain types of firearm sales, NYC requires that you have two licenses beyond the federally required FFL 01. NYC will not issue those licenses to FFL 01's who don't have a brick and mortar store. You can not operate a brick and mortar store out of your house because of zoning restrictions.
Is it legal, under NYC law to conduct any firearm sales at all without the two licenses which you can't get?
If the answer is 'No', then there is no "discrimination against interstate commerce". Discrimination against interstate commerce would require allowing intrastate/local commerce but preventing/restricting the same type of commerce when it is interstate.
Local/state laws:
1. Must not discriminate against out-of-state actors or out-of-state competition, or have the effect of favoring in-state economic actors. If the law is discriminatory, then the state must show it has no other (reasonable) means of advancing a legitimate local (important, non-economic state interest, such as health of safety) purpose.
2. Must not be unduly burdensome. If the law only incidentally burdens interstate commerce, or if the law is nondiscriminatory, the court will balance whether the benefits of the state’s interest are outweighed by the burden on state commerce, by looking to the following: Are there less restrictive alternatives? Are there any conflicts with other states’ regulations?
The first doesn't apply if with-holding the licenses restricts both intrastate and interstate commerce equally.
The second is a factor, but only if the courts rule that the restriction is "unduly burdensome".
Assuming the answer about discrimination is 'No'.
They can certainly legally stop you from getting a business license if you don't meet the requirements for one--as long as the requirements are such that they can be reasonably satisfied. If the requirements were impossible to satisfy then there would be a case--but it still wouldn't hinge on discrimination against insterstate commerce because there's no discrimination--they're just saying you can't do business of any kind.
What they can't do is restrict your interstate commerce while allowing you to conduct the same kind of commerce at the intrastate level unless the courts agree that the burden imposed on interstate commerce is not clearly excessive.
I suspect that's what AG meant when he said "your approach would not work to solve it."
Without discrimination against interstate commerce being a factor, the case is reduced to challenging local zoning and licensing laws which are not going to be of interest to SAF.
Even if it were, I don't see a good basis for such a challenge. NYC is not saying you can't get the licenses, period, they're just saying you have to meet the requirements before you are eligible. I don't like it, you don't like it. It's obviously done as a gun control gambit, but there's nothing in federal laws that says a city/state/county can't regulate businesses by requiring licenses and by using zoning.