Now that support for the Upper West Side retail rezoning has moved beyond local advocates and to the borough president’s office, other communities are beginning to consider similar legislation.
Crain’s reported that community boards in Tribeca, the East Village and Upper East Side are weighing restricting storefronts in order to preserve mom-and-pop shops and encourage a particular set of retail tenants. The Tribeca and East Village-Lower East Side advocates are focusing on the loss of local businesses and the saturation of night life in the areas.
This is proof for opponents of the original Upper West Side proposal, led by the Real Estate Board of New York, that Borough President Scott Stringer’s approval of the initiative would spur similar talks in other areas and expand the restrictions. They say the legislation could impact the city’s retail scene for years to come and be a lasting Bloomberg administration impression.
But the Department of CIty Planning isn’t sure it will be as amenable to similar restrictions in other areas as it was to the Upper West Side proposal, which it will hear publicly this week. It has said it will not replicate the proposal elsewhere, as it was “tailored to a unique set” of circumstances on the Upper West Side. [Crain’s]