City Listens to Mom and Pop

Unveils plan to help local business owners and keep chains out By [Megan Finnegan Bungeroth] Some Upper West Siders have been fighting for years to promote and preserve the small shops and retail diversity that characterize many of the neighborhood's streets, and a proposed new rezoning measure could bring that vision one step closer. The Department of City Planning (DCP) has released a proposal that would restrict the size of individual storefronts along certain sections of Broadway, Amsterdam and Columbus avenues. The affected strips would be along the west side of Amsterdam Avenue from 75th to 110th Street and the east side from 73rd to 87th Street and 105th to 109th Street. Columbus on both sides between 72nd and 87th Street would be included, as well as the west side of Broadway from 72nd to 100th Street and the east side from 74th to 100th Street. The proposal's aim is to preserve the neighborhood's character and limit giant chain stores from taking over multiple storefronts along the popular shopping strips. Community Board 7 and City Council Member Gale Brewer approached the DCP several years ago to address what they saw as a steady loss of the retail diversity and vitality native to the neighborhood. "We studied the major commercial streets closely and, after a detailed analysis of the streetscape character, came to the conclusion that there are land use solutions that could address these issues," said a DCP spokesperson in an email. "The proposed solutions were crafted specifically for this area." Brewer had been trying to find a way to preserve individually owned mom-and-pop stores in the neighborhood for some time. She first tried to lobby the state government to approve tax abatements for landlords who rent to smaller businesses, but that idea didn't go anywhere, she said, so she turned to potential zoning solutions. "Zoning is one tool that we have," said Brewer. "To the credit of the City Planning Commission, they really spent a lot of time, hundreds of hours [on the proposal]." While the city can't specify what establishments landlords rent their commercial space to, it can restrict storefront space and potentially deter bigger chain stores and banks that typically take up half or a full block of store windows. "The community was concerned that these banks with large frontages were taking up commercial spaces previously occupied by multiple small stores that provided a diverse array of retail and commercial uses," DCP said. The new zoning would only let banks to have 25 feet of first-floor space, but would allow them to expand to second floors. "These changes will still allow banks to locate on the corridors but will   that they don't operate at the expense of other necessary retail and commercial establishments," said Rizzo. Peter Arndtsen, district manager of the Columbus-Amsterdam BID, lobbied the DCP to expand the rezoning regulations north to the areas between 96th and 110th Street that his organization represents. He said that while they listened to all community concerns and heard from some who thought the new zoning would be too restrictive, overall most merchants and residents want to see smaller stores in the neighborhood. "Too often, [bigger chain stores] don't have a real connection to the neighborhood, and it's hard to make connections because of changes in their personnel, whether it's managers being moved up or moved out," Arndtsen said. "That is difficult when you're trying to take care of the appearance of the storefront or getting people to know what you're doing, working with residents of the neighborhood or other store owners." But those opposed to the plans deny that changes in zoning will ensure that the spaces go to mom-and-pop stores. "It's a solution without a problem," said Real Estate Board of New York Senior Vice President Michael Slattery. "Retail activity on the Upper West Side has been vibrant. There have been businesses starting up, there have been businesses leaving. That's the nature of retail." Slattery said that a similar move to restrict storefront size on the Upper East Side in the late '70s and early '80s ultimately failed, and that it hasn't been proven that it will have a different result now on the Upper West Side. "They got an influx of Burger Kings and electronics stores," said Slattery of the Upper East Side's ultimate result. "It seems that it's not going to enhance retail activity, it's just going to make it more difficult." Arndtsen thinks there are already landlords who would prefer to rent to smaller stores, however, and that this will only push them in that direction. "This will reward the good landlords who are trying to put in unique stores that are trying to attract people to the neighborhood, and it precludes landlords who are just looking for someone to pay a high rent," he said. The zoning proposal, which outlines specific changes for each of the sections, wouldn't affect the chain stores and banks that currently exist and would also allow for exemptions for grocery stores. It will go first before Community Board 7, which will hold a public hearing with the Land Use and Business & Consumer Issues committees Wednesday, Jan. 18 at Goddard Riverside Center, 593 Columbus Ave. Brewer said that she hears regularly from residents who are concerned about preserving the character of their community through retail and expects the zoning proposal to receive wide support. "It has to do with streetscape," said Brewer, about why retail diversity is so important for a community. "It's the feeling that when you walk down the street, it's interesting, as a human being. The commercial sector is like your soul."