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Major Issues for District 6




Small Businesses Survive on the Upper West Side

November 18, 2005

By Jessica Nething

When customers walk by the fresh fruits and vegetables outside and into Zingone Brothers, they immediately feel welcome. The employees are friendly, approachable, and eager to help. The owner, Nick Zingone, will drop everything to find a product for a customer or assist someone in the checkout line. Although this small store on Columbus Avenue does not carry the variety of products that a bigger supermarket might, Zingone Brothers has something much more important. The store makes customers believe they are part of the family.

Small, "mom and pop" grocery stores continue to survive on the Upper West Side despite increasing affluence in the area driving exorbitant rent hikes, and the steady influx of larger grocery store chains into the area, such as Whole Foods.

These small stores are important to the Upper West Side, and local residents say they relish them. “Apart from a good school system, people move into an area because of the diversity in shopping opportunities,” says George Zeppenfeldt-Cestero of Community Board 7.

But such stores do not necessarily feel secure. Increasing rents often cause small businesses like grocery store to fail. Those that thrive have to find some way to navigate the city’s rising real estate market. “Small businesses that have succeeded long-term either own the building they are located in, or have a sympathetic landlord,” says District 6 Councilmember Gale Brewer.

In July, Brewer and the community board co-sponsored a forum to discuss the impact of retail chain stores and their impact on the Upper West Side. Approximately 60 small businesses attended.

Their biggest concern was the increase in commercial rents. When a commercial lease expires, the landlord can renew the lease and drastically increase the rent, or can choose to deny the tenant the option to resign a lease without any cause. “There is a lack of limits on what landlords and owners can do at the end of a lease," says Zeppenfeldt-Cestero.

Brewer and Zeppenfeldt-Cestero know rising rent is not an issue that is easily resolved and have discussed different tax break options.

One option is to provide the tax relief to the building owners, which will then be passed on to the small businesses in the form of lower rent. “This would be a way to benefit both the renter and the business owner,” says Zeppenfeldt-Cestero. Another option under consideration is to give the tax breaks directly to the small businesses.

But even without the tax breaks, some small grocery store owners believe that they will continue to be successful. Zingone believes his customers keep coming back because of the store's friendly atmosphere. "We've been around since 1935. We're like family to the neighborhood," says Zingone. "People shop here because it's personal."

"Even if a bigger store moves across the street, I'm not worried," said Alvavo Gonzalas about his grocery store Shim Si, also on Columbus Avenue. He explains that each store carries slightly different items, and he thinks customers like the unique products his store offers.

But chain stores have their appeal as well, and consumers still shop in them for several reasons. Martha Lattimore is a regular customer of Gristede's at Columbus and W. 86th Street because of convenience. "[Gristede's] doesn't always carry what I need, but it's closest to where I live," says Lattimore.

Another customer says she shops at Gristede's primarily because the store makes free deliveries for senior citizens, but she also goes to other grocery stores throughout the area depending on what she needs. Some of the larger stores carry items that the smaller ones do not have.

Councilmember Brewer says she wants small service-based stores to succeed on the Upper West Side because she believes they improve the quality of life. “I go to my local stores in my neighborhood, like the drycleaner and grocery store.” But buying food is such an issue in the neighborhood that whether you’re shopping at a Whole Foods, Gristede’s, or Zigone’s, says Councilmember Brewer, “On the West Side, nobody objects to a grocery store, small or large.”





Using 311 to Combat Neighborhood Noise

July 9, 2004

By Gale Brewer

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed sweeping changes to the city's noise code, cracking down on everything from fireworks to ice cream trucks to nightclubs. However, as a constituent recently told me, not all of these city-wide efforts will have a local impact.

"Noise from fireworks really isn't a problem on my block," the person said. "The kind of noise problems my neighbors and I have are more localized and often get ignored."

While I applaud Mayor Bloomberg's resourcefulness in setting up the city's 311 help line and analyzing the data to conclude that noise is New Yorkers' top quality-of-life complaint, the information from 311 is not being used as well as it could be to solve the problems plaguing New Yorkers.

The city's 311 system provides only city or borough-wide data, which hides evidence of where local noise problems originate. For example, the mayor can tell us that noise complaints in Manhattan have increased from 5,000 to 5,050 in one month, but he can't tell us if 50 of those calls are coming from the same raucous bar or even a specific block.

311 data is also not shared with local officials like City Council members, community boards, or the public. 311 rarely, if ever, refers calls to the community board - despite their roles as local ombudsmen and their established relationships with local police, agency heads and businesses - their members and staff may not learn about many of the problems in their communities.

That is why I have drafted a piece of legislation (Introduction 174) that would require the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to provide local information about 311 calls - including the locations, types, and numbers of complaints - to local officials. With my bill, council members, community boards and the public (through www.nyc.gov) would receive monthly reports on 311 complaints broken down into data that they could actually use.

As citizens use the 311 service to seek relief from problems, they are not turning to their local community boards as frequently, and thus the city is not benefiting from the expertise that boards provide in problem solving. A 311 call may lead to dispatching a police officer to fine a noisy local nightclub, only solving the problem for one evening.

Involving the community boards and council members who grant permits and oversee zoning, however, is the most effective way to address consistent problem-areas. It is the difference between treating a symptom and curing a disease.

Sharing 311 data with local officials can also solve other quality-of-life problems, and can be cost effective. Last week, I had 30 constituents who live on a quiet block call my office about a rat infestation. If we had the local 311 data sooner, we might have caught the infestation before it became rampant.

However, at a recent City Council hearing on the bill, the officials from the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications said they were unwilling to support the bill, citing the difficulty in sorting the enormous centralized databank of complaint information and integrating data from older computer systems into local reports.

It certainly will cost something to create a larger database, but the ultimate savings in money and efficiency will be worth it.

Community boards were created in order to combat this kind of monolithic, centralized approach to government, which often leaves local concerns unidentified and neglected. We've seen a revolution in using local data to combat other citywide problems, such as in the New York Police Department's use of CompStat.

Noise control - along with many other issues - merits the same approach.

Mayor Bloomberg needs to use 311 to empower local officials to fulfill their charter-mandated jobs of planning for the future, or his next big noise complaint might be the combined cries of city residents whose quality of life is suffering from poorly identified local problems.

New York City Council Gale Brewer represents the Upper West Side and chairs the City Council committee on technology.





West-Park Presbyterian: Neighbors Come To The Rescue

December 12, 2003

By Jennifer Sabella

In New York City, it not unusual for residents to react with alarm to news that a cherished neighborhood institution may be demolished and replaced with a tall, modern building that blocks views and light. However, it is rare for New Yorkers to reach into their own pockets and donate millions of dollars to halt development.

But that is how residents of the Upper West Side reacted when they learned that West-Park Presbyterian Church, located at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, was considering selling its building to developers because it can not afford to fix its roof.

"When we heard about the possible demolition of this site and construction of a high-rise residential tower, it immediately felt that because of the significance of this community asset and good neighbor, we should try to come to their aid," said Seth Friedland, a resident of 176 West 87th.

West-Park Presbyterian, built in 1884, is a five-story red sandstone church that stands out among the tall buildings that line Amsterdam Avenue. The American Institute of Architects Guide to New York City calls the church "one of the West Side's loveliest landmarks." Its sanctuary was designed by Leopold Eidlitz, who did the state house in Albany and Tweed Courthouse in New York City.  

It not only caters to the spiritual needs of its congregation of more than 100 members, but it also provides youth programs, children's playgroups and parent workshops.

But like so many aging houses of worship in New York, West-Park Presbyterian needs expensive repairs. And however much it may prize its facility, the church's "primary goal is to remain in ministry to this community," said Robert Brashear, the senior pastor.

The initial cost of fixing the outside of the building is estimated at $2.8 million, and the bill for total repairs, including fixing the roof, range as high as $8 million.  To make matters worse, the church has suffered a drop in its endowment fund, which is used to cover church programs and expenses. Brashear said the endowment could run out entirely in two to three years.

And so one possible solution for the church would involve teaming up with a developer eager for the church's prime piece of real estate. The church would be demolished and replaced with an apartment building that would have space for West-Park Presbyterian and its programs.

According to the New York Times, as of last February, Related Companies, the developer of the AOL Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle, was reported to be interested. Such a plan is appealing, Brashear said, because the church "would get... something that would last well into the next century."

Unlike many other churches in similar circumstances, West-Park Presbyterian is not an official New York City landmark and does not lie in a historic district, so there are fewer obstacles to prevent its demolition or the construction of a high-rise.

The church's neighbors reacted quickly - and generously - to the threat of a new building.

Residents from two apartment buildings near the church, the Belnord apartments and the 87th Street building, formed Friends of West-Park to try to stop the development plans. They received help from Landmark West!, a group interested in the preservation of historic architecture on the Upper West Side. Some 200 people attended a community meeting on the issue last spring.

Residents of his building pledged $1.5 million to try to help the church. Other buildings and community residents may also contribute and help the church find ways to come up with as much as $10 million, Friedland said. The goal, he added, is to "raise sufficient funds to assist the church in rebuilding the church and put them on a firm financial footing."

Friends of West Park is currently working with the church on a proposal to address the church's financial problems and the costs of maintaining the building. They expect to complete it by the end of January. Then, church leaders will have to decide what to do and whether, with the help of its neighbors, the church can meet its goal, of remaining "in ministry to this community,"  as Brashear puts it, without selling land to developers.

The community effort may seem unusual in a city where so many similar disputes have ended up in court. But Friends of West Park are following in the footsteps of SOUL (Save our Universalist Landmark), a successful community effort to save the Universalist Church on 76th Streets, said Kate Wood, executive director of Landmark West! In that case, residents raised money and helped the church establish a business plan.

Such cooperation may become more common in the future, said Anne Friedman of the New York Landmarks Conservancy. "Increasingly congregations and denominations are not going to be able to maintain these historic buildings and communities will have to join forces," she said.

Also In This Series:

Bowne Street Community Church: Adapting To The Times
(Flushing, Dist. 20)

Shearith Israel: Preserving The Past Or Shaping The Future?
(Central Park West, Dist. 6)

St.Thomas The Apostle: End Of An Era
(Harlem, Dist. 9)

Religion and Historic Preservation
(Overview)





Shearith Israel: Preserving The Past Or Shaping The Future?

December 11, 2003

By Andrea Lynn

Congregation Shearith Israel, the nation's oldest Jewish congregation, dates its beginnings to 1654 when 22 Portuguese Jews left Brazil for New York. Until 1825, it remained New York's only Jewish congregation.

But, as it tends to be the case in New York, a distinguished past provides no insulation from accusations of trampling history from neighbors who are opposed to new development.

Shearith Israel, located at 70th Street and Central Park West, wants to tear down its community center behind the synagogue and erect a 14-story building, which would include a community center and 10 floors of apartments. The congregation would use the revenue from the sale of the apartments to help preserve its landmarked neo-classical synagogue, built in 1897. That, in turn, would free up money for community projects.

While the community center buildings, two brownstones adjacent to the synagogue, are not designated landmarks, they sit in the Upper West Side/Central Park Historic District. The new building would be 80 feet higher than the maximum allowed in the district, and some say, would be out of keeping with the architectural character of the surrounding buildings, many of which date back to the 19th century.

Whatever its merits, this dispute might have remained another little noticed skirmish in New York City's preservation wars were it not for Shearith Israel's neighbors.

Last summer, ABC news anchor Peter Jennings, who lives across the street at 101 Central Park West, wrote a scathing letter to the chair of the Landmark Preservation Commission, which must rule on the synagogue's plan, condemning the proposed 157-foot building.

"The synagogue gives the impression of having worked to bypass the neighbors, to have its way whatever the neighbors think," Jennings wrote in his letter according to the New York Observer. Specifically, Jennings charged that prominent developer Jack Rudin, an honorary trustee of Shearith Israel, was trying to use his influence to ram through the project.

Jennings also reportedly questioned the unusual number of private meetings between congregation representatives and the landmarks commission. Shearith Israel vigorously denies it has acted improperly.

Robert Caro, author of the book the Power Broker, also opposes the plan and fears that giving Shearith Israel its way could only lead to more development in the area.

This is not the first time that Shearith Israel has tried to replace the community center - and clashed with the community.

In the 1980s, the congregation proposed razing the center, which houses administrative offices, the synagogue's religious school and rooms used for community programs, to make way for a 42-story tower. This proposal was swiftly defeated due to public outcry and economic difficulties, according to Simeon Bankoff, executive director of the Historic Districts Council. A subsequent plan for a 33-story structure was also abandoned.

At 14 stories, the plan still attracts controversy, as people argue vociferously on both sides.

The NYC Landmarks Conservancy, a private group, has endorsed the plan. It says that a not-for-profit organization in a landmark district can destroy a building if it can prove that the old structure is "no longer adequate or suitable for carrying out the organization's charitable purposes." The group's president, Peg Breen, has said the synagogue's proposed building is "a reasonable height and design."

Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields also endorses the project; State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried vigorously opposes it, as does City Councilmember Gale Brewer and many community residents.

Some historic preservation advocates, such as the Historic District Council and Landmark West!, charge that the proposed design ignores the brownstone character of the block and the Upper West Side. In testimony before the Landmarks Commission on July 1, Landmark West! stated, "This building does not relate harmoniously to the landmark or the historic district. It will violate the contextual zoning of the historic district designation, disregarding ever established principle of sound planning for this area."

But Shelly Friedman, lawyer for the congregation, said Shearith Israel has been sensitive to design for centuries. "They've been preserving their past and their architecture since they moved here 300 years ago - way before there was ever a landmarks commission," Friedman said.

At its core, though, the dispute revolves around whether Shearith Israel should be given special consideration because of the financial burden that landmark status can place on religious and non-profit institutions. The congregation says it has already spent approximately $8 million to preserve its 106 year-old synagogue. But it says the building needs still more work, including a new copper roof.

The money spent on that, the congregation argues, cannot go to other essential projects, such as the creation of a permanent archives. And so Shearith Israel must look for other ways to generate money.

Roger Lang, director of Community Programs and Services of New York Landmarks Conservancy, which supports Shearith Israel's initiative, recognizes that religious institutions face a difficult task trying to fund restoration efforts and fulfill their community missions. To help with such dilemmas, the group has launched a program called Sacred Sites, which provides financial assistance and guidance to religious congregations.

At a December hearing of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the congregation presented yet another revised plan, moving the building 10 feet away from the synagogue and modifying the top to fit in with surrounding buildings.

One commissioner was pleased with the changes and said the building be would acceptable at the proposed height. Another commissioner said called it an "erosion of the landmarks laws beyond our wildest nightmares."

The commission is expected to make a decision next year.

Also In This Series:

Bowne Street Community Church: Adapting To The Times
(Flushing, Dist. 20)

West-Park Presbyterian: Neighbors Come To The Rescue
(Upper West Side, Dist. 6)

St.Thomas The Apostle: End Of An Era
(Harlem, Dist. 9)

Religion and Historic Preservation
(Overview)





Lack of Trees

July 31, 2003

More than 100 empty spaces with dead or dying trees dot the landscape of the Upper West Side, according to a survey conducted by Councilmember Gale Brewer. Residents are worried that the forsaken public spaces, many of which are located near schools and public libraries, are a sign of a declining neighborhood.




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ALL DISTRICT 6 MAJOR ISSUES
Small Businesses Survive on the Upper West Side
(Nov 18, 2005)

Using 311 to Combat Neighborhood Noise
(Jul 09, 2004)

West-Park Presbyterian: Neighbors Come To The Rescue
(Dec 12, 2003)

Shearith Israel: Preserving The Past Or Shaping The Future?
(Dec 11, 2003)

Lack of Trees
(Jul 31, 2003)

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