New hope that City Hall will give bill a chance S.B.J.S.A., continued from p. 15
Similarly, Spinola didn’t have anything positive to say about so-called “formula zoning,” under which municipalities can block certain types of businesses — like national chain stores — from opening in certain retail zones. This has been done in some other cities, such as parts of San Francisco. “I don’t understand it,” Spinola said of the concept. “That’s basically government deciding where people can shop, and I think that’s wrong. People drive out of the city to Walmarts and Targets. If big-box stores don’t work — then why are they working?” New York City albeit does have some big-box stores, “but not enough,” he declared. On the other hand, the city’s special zoning that keeps nightclubs and music venues away from residential areas, in his view, is appropriate. Advocates believe the S.B.J.S.A. would help preserve neighborhoods’ character — a special quality, they note, that draws people from all around the world to visit places like the historic, legendary Village. But Spinola scoffed that New York shouldn’t be preserved like a giant museum. “The character of New York is that it’s
thriving, it is growing and it is changing,” he said. “Who wants to come to New York if you say, ‘It’s going to stay the same forever?’ We’ve got museums that are exciting to see. But when they walk the streets, people want to see what New York is today.” While it obviously would not be easy — perhaps impossible — to get REBNY to change its tune on the S.B.J.S.A., local city councilmembers have lined up behind the measure. Corey Johnson, who represents the Village and Chelsea, said in a statement, “I am proud to be a co-sponsor of the Small Business Jobs Survival Act. Our small businesses and the people who love them are what make New York special. They shouldn’t need corporate backing to stay afloat. If only chain stores can afford to stay here — something needs to change. I am working with Councilmember Annabel Palma to encourage my colleagues to sign on and sponsor this critical piece of legislation.” Like Johnson, Margaret Chin, who represents Lower Manhattan’s First District, is also a supporter of the bill in the City Council. In a statement to Sharon Woolums several months ago for one of Woolums’s columns on the S.B.J.S.A. in The Villager, Chin said, “I am deeply concerned about the dif-
Wing it, but don’t fling it!
Read t the Easr! Village 18
April 2, 2015
ficulties faced by the valuable small businesses that make our community great. Since ever-rising rents contribute to the closure of so many small businesses, I continue to co-sponsor the Small Business Jobs Survival Act, which would create fair rent negotiations and help save many of these beloved stores.” However, Rosie Mendez, who represents the East Village’s Second Council District, currently is not listed among the sponsors of the S.B.J.S.A. Her office did not respond to requests for comment about her thoughts on the bill. A list of the S.B.J.S.A.’s sponsors, more about the bill, a petition to show support and information on how to get involved in the cause can be found at savenycjobs.org . Palma, who represents the Bronx’s 18th District, and is the bill’s lead sponsor, said she is working to build support for it. The bill’s two newest sponsors are Helen Rosenthal and Laurie Cumbo, who both came on board within the past two weeks. “I am still speaking to my colleagues and trying to get as many to sign on,” Palma told The Villager last week. “We know how important it is for this bill to have a hearing. We want to have a hearing and have both sides speak out. “In our last session [in the City Council under Quinn], we did have a majority of our members sign on and want to pass this bill. I think the sentiment is still there.” Asked if she thinks the new Council speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito, will let the bill come up for a vote, Palma said she’s hopeful. “We’ve seen that there have been a lot of changes in this new Council,” she said. “I’m confident this Council will operate in the way the majority feels.” Ultimately, the S.B.J.S.A. could be a win-win for all involved, according to Palma. “This bill definitely has the best interests of the business community and the real estate industry,” she maintained. “Once you make sure all stakeholders understand that it benefits both sides, bring them to the table.” The Villager has helped jump-start the recent burst of energy for getting the S.B.J.S.A. passed. Interest began to build when this newspaper’s Feb. 19 issue ran an ad publicizing the highly anticipated March 5 forum on the bill at Judson Church that was co-sponsored by The Villager and Village Independent Democrats. The following week, in its Feb. 26 issue, The Villager ran an editorial about the upcoming forum and the bill, further highlighting the issue.
That same week, Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York blog ramped up its three-month-old online campaign, www.savenyc.nyc, with an even stronger emphasis on supporting the S.B.J.S.A. Among the supporters of the blog’s Facebook page is Mark-Viverito. However, there was no response from the Council speaker to The Villager’s requests for comment on whether she intends to let the S.B.J.S.A. come up for a vote any time soon. Steve Null, a former member of the Small Business Advisory Board in the Dinkins and Giuliani administrations, wrote the original S.B.J.S.A. 30 years ago for former Councilmember Ruth Messinger. He said the fate of the bill today will show how progressive Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mark-Viverito truly are. “We know from history that what is happening to our small businesses today would never have happened under Mayor LaGuardia or the Roosevelts when they were governor, all New Yorkers, all true progressives, all believers in government creating progressive legislation to solve a public problem,” Null said. Sometimes an outpouring of public support can help a threatened business stave off eviction and keep an affordable rent. This has happened at least twice with Ray’s Candy Store on Avenue A in the past 15 years. “Five years ago, I had no money to pay rent,” the store’s longtime operator, Ray Alvarez, a.k.a. Asghar Ghahraman, 82, said last week while, as usual, manning the overnight shift. Back then, a local lawyer working pro bono helped him get a yearlong lease after nine years of being on a month-to-month one. “The reason they renewed my lease,” Ray said, “they didn’t want public anger.” When he took over the hole-in-thewall store in 1974, Ray paid just $120 a month. Now it’s up to $4,500. In July, his landlord will raise it — but just a bit — to $4,800. A regular customer who was keeping Ray company recalled the community outpouring in the ’80s to save Orchidia restaurant, at E. Ninth St. and Second Ave., after the place’s rent was raised from $950 to an unaffordable $5,000 a month. “That was the first one,” he said. “They got all the politicians involved. They lost.” The man requested anonymity. Ray quipped to identify him as “Ray’s son.” Told about the S.B.J.S.A., “Ray’s son” said it sounded to him like “pie in the sky.” But — who knows? — maybe with de Blasio and Mark-Viverito, the bill just may at last have a chance. EastVillagerNews.com