A new proposal by the Department of City Planning aims to keep pedestrians from feeling like Broadway, Amsterdam and Columbus avenues have turned into strip malls.
The rezoning proposal attempts to address concerns that large chain stores and banks occupy too much storefront space, especially on Amsterdam and Columbus avenues—two streets that traditionally have housed a mix of small-scale stores and mom-and-pop retailers.
On Broadway, the department proposed more relaxed restrictions to accommodate Broadway’s wider layout and traditionally larger-scale retail atmosphere.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer supported the proposal, which CB7 members will vote on in February.
“We have a real obligation and opportunity to really look at our street space in a different way,” Stringer said.
According to Peter Arndtsen, district manager of the Columbus/Amsterdam Business Improvement District, the rezoning would prevent larger banks and chain stores—which could occupy multiple storefronts and edge out smaller local businesses—from further changing the neighborhood’s diverse, pedestrian-friendly atmosphere.
He said that the Columbus/Amsterdam BID—which covers those two avenues north of 96th Street—has several bakeries and restaurants, including Ethiopian, Caribbean, and Bangladeshi cuisines, and small boutiques that offer locals and Columbia students something unique.
“Having stores that you can find in a strip mall would make the area lose its character and attractiveness to people that are looking for something special in New York,” Arndtsen said.
The amendment, which city planner Laura Smith presented at a Community Board 7 land use and transportation meeting, labels Amsterdam and Columbus a special mixed-use district, separate from Broadway.
This designation restricts width of the ground-floor area an establishment can occupy to 40 feet, banks’ storefront space to 25 feet, and residential buildings’ lobbies to 15 feet on most of Amsterdam between 72nd and 110th streets and Columbus between 72nd and 87th streets.
Broadway will not have restrictions on retail storefronts, but a 25-foot bank restriction will still apply between 72nd and 110th streets. To liven up the storefronts and allow pedestrians to look into stores, the department will also require all new buildings in both the special districts to make at least half of its storefront space transparent.
According to City Council member Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side, a strong presence of small-scale stores and mom-and-pop retailers ultimately makes both the avenues and side streets more attractive places to live.
Brewer said she came to the meeting “because I have 65 banks in my district.”
“We need to do something to preserve the mom-and-pops and to have a balance in the neighborhood.”
Others agreed that the rezoning amendment would maintain the long-term diversity and character that ultimately makes these neighborhoods attractive. According to former CB7 chair Mel Wymore, the level of detail in the amendment reflects a real intention to balance “market forces and community needs.”
Arndtsen agreed that the proposal would develop both the neighborhood’s character and its property value. He said he supported the amendment because he believes it will prevent landlords from leasing their buildings to chain stores—who can provide money up front to cash-strapped landlords but become an eyesore and an economic threat to local businesses.
“There’s some landlords that have really worked hard to create an attractive … strip,” Arndtsen said. “What’s being sold there is very unique,” he said, unlike what’s offered at chains.
Although many Upper West Siders supported the plan’s intention to preserve the small-scale, diverse storefront experience, some felt that the amendment did not do enough.
Representatives expressed concerns about the lack of specific regulation of chain retailers, the exemption of designated landmarks from the restriction, and the fact that the amendment does not require existing noncompliant businesses to change. Richard Asche, CB7 land use committee co-chair, said these concerns would be revisited at the full board meeting in February.
Others feared that the plan would have unintended consequences.
“I hope it ends up doing what we hope it will do,” CB7 member Andrew Albert said. “If we have a small mom-and-pop store and it’s really successful, will they be able to expand?”
Despite its shortcomings, many Upper West Siders see this amendment as a first step toward maintaining the historical character and diversity of the neighborhood. According to Wymore, the amendment is not so much a complete solution to the challenges smaller businesses face, but rather a concrete attempt to “activate street life.”
“It’s really about street life and maintaining an active street life and combatting the uses that deaden street life,” he said.
Brewer agreed that the amendment would maintain the relationship between the neighborhood and an active streetscape that have traditionally characterized these districts.
“It is soulful. It is personal. It is what our neighborhood is all about,” she said.
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