UWS Council Candidate Unveils Plan To Fix Broadway Vacancy Plight

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY – In the run-up to the City Council election on the Upper West Side, the subject of the revitalization of Broadway and the number of vacant storefronts on the avenue has become one of the leading issues in the race.

On Thursday, Sara Lind, a candidate for City Council in the Upper West Side's District 6, released a plan to help fill those empty storefronts on the iconic avenue.

"Take a walk down Broadway, Amsterdam, or Columbus and chances are you’ll see full blocks of empty storefronts. It goes without saying, vacancies are not good for the community," Lind said in a news release.

The candidate for City Council highlighted two pieces of legislation that currently block businesses from coming to the Upper West Side.

1. The zoning restriction of a maximum of 40 feet for a storefront.
2. The current solution for empty storefronts being for owners to "report" vacancies.

Lind believes that the storefront restriction size is too small for many businesses to consider and the practice of reporting vacancies doesn't do anything in helping to fill them.

A count carried out by Patch in April 2019 found 47 stores standing empty on Broadway between West 68th and 98th Streets. An identical count in October of 2020 found that there are now 57 shuttered businesses in the 30-block stretch of Broadway.

Lind breaks down her plan to fix the Broadway vacancy problem into three parts: Eliminate Red Tape, Ease Financial Burdens, and Give Corridors a Glow-Up.

Here's what she writes for each.

Eliminate Red Tape

• "Lift local retail frontage restrictions.
• Streamline city processes and regulations that make it difficult for small businesses to open and operate
• Organize government reviews to take place at the same time to make the process faster and more affordable
• Standardize review processes across all Community Boards
• Focus on education and compliance rather than punitive fines (i.e., give businesses a cure period after inspection failures rather than shutting them down immediately)
• Update zoning laws to allow for 21st century uses like co-working, start-ups, light manufacturing, and mini distribution hubs."

Ease Financial Burdens

• "Eliminate the Commercial Rent Tax
• Develop a Small Business Emergency Fund, similar to PPP provided during COVID, that businesses can access during disasters
• Fund W/MBEs
• Provide an option for government-run worker benefits (healthcare, paid vacation, etc) so that small businesses do not struggle to meet these financial burdens."

Give Corridors a Glow-up

• "Support public green spaces, pedestrian areas, and art installations to drive foot traffic.
• Work with local landlords to fill empty storefronts with pop-ups, arts, etc. until long-term tenants are found.
• Reimagine Broadway as a pedestrian thoroughfare similar to Union Square and Diversity Plaza in Queens
• Require buildings to use more aesthetically pleasing and well-lit scaffolding (such as Urban Umbrella) and fine buildings that leave scaffolding up for an extended period of time."