Construction on the Second Ave. subway has cut into sidewalk space along the avenue. This shot looks south at the southwest corner of 94th St. and Second Ave. (Photo courtesy of The Launch Box)
It’s no small feat to construct a subway. Old photos — available in The City Beneath Us — clearly show the distruptive nature of underground construction. Today, businesses along Second Ave. are learning that subway construction comes with a price, and many of them aren’t too happy.
According to a recent story in the New York Post, store owners along Second Ave. are losing substantial amounts of revenue because of the construction, and these business owners aren’t too happy with the MTA’s and the City’s responsiveness so far. Kevin Fasick, Dan Kadison and Patrick Gallahue have more:
Shop owners on Second Avenue between 91st and 96th streets complain that their sidewalk space has been more than cut in half by guardrails and concrete barricades that are keeping customers away. “It cut down my traffic tremendously,” said Marcelo Ronchini, who owns Nina’s Pizzeria on Second Avenue between 91st and 92nd streets. “I’ve lost 20 percent of my revenue.”
John Ng, manager of Hokkaido restaurant, at the corner of East 94th Street, said, “Business has dropped at least $20,000 a month. We’re trying to wait it out. What can we do?”
And Vicky Schreier, owner of Rainbow Ace Hardware at 94th Street, said that her business, too, was down and she wanted the city, along with the MTA, to come up with ideas to help the shops. “There is a significant drop in business,” Schreier said. “We understand it’s good for New York, the good of people, but it’s not good for us.”
In six years when the subway is open and access to the Upper East Side is streamlined, these business owners will be doing a brisk business. But in the world of local stores, six years can be an eternity, and that $20,000 month-to-month decline in sales could be the difference bewteen life and death.
The Post reports that a coalition of shop owners have met with the Department of Small Business Services and the MTA. Assemblyman Jonathan Bing hopes to come to an agreement on some low-interest loans or tax-free zones for those businesses suffering from the construction. Street-level disruptions up and down Second Ave. will be an ongoing issue throughout the construction of the Second Ave. subway, and it would of course be best for everyone involved to find a happy medium to what could be a debilitation problem to businesses in the area.
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Aaron Naparstek of Streetsblog is a facist. He only publishes comments which aree with his point of view. If you have anything contrary to say, no matter how you say it, you will be deleted.
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