Buying a magazine and a pack of gum just got complicated.
Members of Community Board 7, which represents the Upper West Side, passed a resolution earlier this month approving a newsstand for Columbus Avenue north of 97th Street in front of a new Whole Foods store.
For some neighborhood residents, it’s the last straw. This additional option for newspapers and sodas has ignited a larger debate on the changing landscape at the Upper West Side’s new Columbus Square development, from developer Stellar Management.
Opponents are arguing that a newsstand would bring even more traffic to the busy retail and housing development, from 97th to 100th streets on Columbus, where stores have been opening since August.
Yet some shoppers and residents of the surrounding Park West Village said they are happy to take advantage of what they see as a revitalized neighborhood.
It’s a divide that has some neighborhood residents fuming and others shopping.
While the city Department of Transportation said that it did not have any statistics to verify an increase of traffic in the area, Lynn Hilaire, who lives on the stretch of Columbus Avenue being developed, thinks the development has brought about a traffic disaster.
“It’s already terrible, the vehicle and pedestrian traffic has increased so that it’s become a danger,” Hilaire said.
As far as the proposed newsstand, she added, “It’s an unsafe site that has not been properly researched or thought out.”
On Jan. 5, the board approved the newsstand between the entrance to Whole Foods and the Whole Foods wine store, in a vote of 19-13, with two abstentions.
Catherine Unsino, who lives on Central Park West close to Columbus Square, said her quality of life has been negatively impacted by all of the development.
“I can simply say that suddenly a neighborhood that was very appealing to residents has been transformed into a highly commercial destination neighborhood.” Unsino said, adding, “When we heard of newsstand, some would say that’s a small matter, but it’s emblematic of a larger piece where the community is not particularly consulted.”
But CB7 transportation committee co-chair Andrew Albert said that this was a modified proposal for a smaller stand in a safer location. It was originally proposed for the corner of 97th and Columbus, where opponents feared it could block motorists’ views of pedestrians.
Albert acknowledged community concerns, and said that he had his own reservations about the new site.
“Park West Village feels very put upon by so much construction … and now this was kind of like, ‘Now we have to deal with this. Do we really need this on top of everything?’” Albert said.
Rosalie Hughes, in line at Michaels—which recently opened next to Whole Foods—said that her one major traffic concern was parking. “We park our car on the street, and over the last couple of years it’s been getting harder and now sometimes it’s impossible.”
Maggi Peyton, president of the Park West Village Tenants’ Association, also expressed frustration with the traffic. “We’ve become another shopping mall,” she said. “The congestion is unbelievable. The number of people who go in and out of Whole Foods, especially on weekends, are really huge.”
Community Board 7 Chair Mel Wymore said, “My sense is that it was a healthy debate in the community. We looked at all different sides and this looked like the outcome for the community from that discussion.”
The Department of Transportation still has to approve the newsstand for it to become a reality.
Though vocal opponents expressed concerns at CB7, some shoppers said that, even with an increase in traffic, the development is positive.
For Michaels customer Ellen Freilich, a little more traffic is just the price you pay for craft supplies. “Who knew there were so many latent scrapbookers around here? You get a little convenience here, you lose it somewhere else,” she said.
Inna Bakker, who lives on 96th Street, was excited when she heard about the newsstand, which she didn’t think would draw customers from other avenues. “People who are in these few blocks will be buying newspapers because we don’t have one around,” she said.
Bakker added that it is important to not blindly oppose change. “In history, every time there’s new development, there are people fighting against it. New York City wouldn’t be developed at all,” she said.
Michael Sinatra, spokesperson for Whole Foods Market, said that the community’s traffic concerns have more to do with the development as a whole.
“People pulling taxis off the streets are fairly common in New York, and we haven’t received any complaints,” Sinatra said. “We can’t change increased foot traffic, but we’ve had an outstanding response from the community and a lot of people are pleased with us being there.”
Talia Mann, spokesperson for Stellar Management, wrote in an e-mail to Spectator last November that there is no traffic issue at all.
“What I can say is that we have had very little traffic, as most of the people coming there are coming either on foot, via the subway or bus,” Mann said, adding, “There is very little traffic and congestion in the area.”
sarah.darville@columbiaspectator.com
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