City May Rezone Upper West Side To Drive Chain Stores Away (Or Underground)

The preponderance of big chain stores on the Upper West Side could be severely reversed under a plan introduced by the Department of City Planning. Acting on concerns from the Upper West Side community and elected officials, the city is considering rezoning part of the neighborhood to create two Special Enhanced Commercial Districts. Each of these zones would limit the frontage of new and expanding banks and residential lobbies along Broadway, Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues. Overall store size would not be restricted, so big chains could still burrow underground, but city planners argue that "over time the general multi-store character of Amsterdam and Columbus avenues would be maintained, while promoting a more varied and active retail environment on Broadway."

You can check out the proposal below. The proposal comes as more Upper West Side residents (and residents of other neighborhoods) have felt the erosion of New York's unique commercial character, as ubiquitous banks and chain pharmacies sprout up on seemingly every block. The area to be rezoned currently has no fewer than 29 banks, and a plethora of generic chain retail outlets. Under the new zoning, the ground-floor width of all new stores would be limited to 40 feet, while banks would be limited to 25 feet wide. “When a bank closes at night, it becomes dead space," the former chairman of the local community board tells the Times. "A retail establishment, on the other hand, is interesting to look at. Even when it’s closed, it engages the pedestrian."

Food stores like Trader Joe's would be exempt from the rezoning, which has the support of the local City Council representatives and the mayor. "This proposal will preserve the historic fabric of the Upper West Side that provides a diverse repository of unique small businesses, a place where the entrepreneurial spirit can flourish, and economic stability that yields jobs and job training experiences," says City Council Member Inez E. Dickens.

But The Real Estate Board of New York, which represents landlords, is not, um, on board. Steven Spinola, the board’s president, argues that stores like Duane Reade and CVS have "become the new five-and-dimes," where customers do all their shopping at one location. He asks the Times, "If CVS is such a terrible store for the area, then why are they getting a tremendous number of customers?" Gee, maybe because these giant chain stores put all the local alternatives out of business?

UWS Rezoning Presentation

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on February 3, 2012 4:05 PM

Comments [rss]

dogbertt

New Yorkers are always bitching about Chase and Duane Reade.

Don't you pendejitos realize both started as NYC mom-and-pops? You should be celebrating their success!

Alexander Medwedew

The zoning proposal is a paper tiger with as many holes a piece of swiss cheese. Only new buildings will be affected and it would take many years to show effects. Big retail stores would only be limited by the amount of space in the building. The small storefront is just window dressing to make the big store look small. Small stores will not get additional competively priced small retail space they desperately need. The small business owner will not get reduced rents or any preferential treatment or protections. The only ones who will benefit are the politicians who will claim they have saved the community at election time and the uninformed public will believe them.

whitecastlerock

Fuck the UWS residents and greedy landlords who priced people out their apartments to begin with. Now the whiny fucks who occupy that area complain the rents are too high-resulting in vacancies for storefronts and Duane Reades galore. We need REGULATION NOW! Boo hoo. Take your luxury problems and call your therapists...

Steven

It's really not necessary to have the same store every 2 blocks.

odaddyo

Oh it's box stores that put Mom & Pops out of biz. How about Rents and all the city regulations and taxes? Could that have some impact on it.

TeddyNYC

Many blocks in the city now look like a strip mall in Jersey (or any other suburb).

AuntySemantic

Too little, too late.

randomtransplant

No Wal Mart then, right?

Or is the UWS just a bunch of elitist Hippocrates?

TeddyNYC

Heaven forbid a Walmart opens up on the UWS or any other part of Manhattan.

SPsGhost

I support this 1000%, and many of the proposals here are ones I've advocated for. Specifically, if a landlord can't fill a commercial space with X amount of time, the rents they are asking should be reviewed every six months and mandatorily reduced until a tenant is found. Landlords should get a tax break for renting to small locally owned businesses, and penalized for renting out to out fast food franchises and big box stores. Rents should also be subject to rent stabilization rules as well, so that when a business's lease is up the landlord can't decided to double or triple the rent om them. These among other things. And it should apply to the whole city, not just the UWS.

HughGass

fucking stupid. really. rent stabilization for commercial tenants?

SPsGhost

Yup. Rent stabilization for commercial tenants. Businesses are forced to close every day, not because they aren't successful, but because their landlords can raise their rents indiscriminately. The Gourmet Garage, a thriving, well regarded NYC mini chain of grocery stores, just had to close their store on 96th and Broadway, which had been there for about 20 years and was loved in the neighborhood, because the landlord tripled their rent. It's outrageous. If there wasn't already a Walgreens on the block, a Bank of America across the street, a Chase bank on the opposite corner, a tenant like that would have been destined for the space. I can guarantee you that space will sit empty for years now. Now that's fucking stupid, really.

HughGass

So when my taxes and insurance goes up 50% but I can only raise my rent 2% you're going to take care of the difference? That makes sense.

Timon_8

Hear, hear! The city is full of stories like these. The exact same thing happened to La Rosita at 108th and Broadway--the only really good, reliable, moderately-priced restaurant in the neighborhood (and it had the best cafe con leche in town). That space was vacant for something like 3 years. It's now a fucking nail salon.

sk83r

Maybe stores should BUY their retail space like in other countries. Commercial condos are legal in the USA you know. No rent to increase then.

SPsGhost

oh how cute. you must be new around here.

whysenhymer

I thought the majority of people that live in the Upper Wets Side typically own large quantities of stock in these types of companies. Why wouldn't they want to shop at them?

lostwallet

I was against this proposal, but now that I see the details, I kind of like it.

I it that super-sized empty blocks of retail could be broken into smaller units if not rented within 2-years. There are so many blocks of empty spaces waiting to be filled which are eyesores for the time they linger. This brings a “put-up or shut-up” timeframe to them.

AaronRed99

Use the time machine to go back to 1985 and this might have an impact.
Otherwise, where the eff have you been City Planning?

pendejito

You forgot something....

"Use the time machine to go back to 1985".. don't move into that neighborhood, and maybe all the small shop keepers would still be able to afford their rents..."and this might have an impact."