REBNY Talks Brands Vs Boutiques

NYC faces a battle balancing the free-market expansion of national retailers and the preservation of mom-and-pops. (David's Bridal v. Goliath's Lil' Wedding Shoppe.) REBNY recently weighed in during a meeting with Manhattan Borough president Gale Brewer’s staff.

Yesterday, we visited REBNY’s Mike Slattery at the org’s 570 Lex office, where he told us brokers want to see a balance of retail; they don’t want to see big-boxes regulated away from neighborhoods—or the small guys priced out. Meanwhile, different communities have different needs, he says. The UWS, Gale’s stomping grounds, for instance, passed zoning in ’09 that limits individual storefronts on Columbus and Amsterdam to 40 feet wide. (50 foot extension cords will never get their chance in the spotlight.) Lower-income areas like nearby Upper Manhattan, though, appreciate the cheaper goods and variety at box stores.

Strictures on tenant sizes can cause spaces to sit vacant as co-ops await the right tenant or local portfolio owners work to create retail diversity across their holdings, Mike says. So rather than legislating, REBNY would prefer to use its broker members to help local retailers relocate when they get priced out. He cites Jim’s Shoe Repairing, which we snapped this morning. It's been on 59th between Madison and Park for 84 years, but SL Green is repositioning the building, 625 Madison, and opted not to renew the lease. Jim’s, though, would be better suited to a lower-profile, nearby side street where its customers could follow but the business could make more money per square foot, Mike says.