Town Hall: “Retail Challenges on the Upper West Side” (TEMPORARILY POSTPONED)

This event is temporarily postponed. We’ll provide an update once it is rescheduled.

The Business & Consumer Issues Committee (BCI) of Community Board 7 is hosting the “Retail Challenges on the Upper West Side” Town Hall on Wednesday, April 1, from 6:30-8pm. The town hall will take place at Kaufmann Auditorium at the American Museum of Natural History.

The panel will include:

• Property owners Glen Siegel (Belvedere Capital) and George Beane (A.R. Walker & Co.).
• Jewelry designer and retailer Katie Thompson (KT Collection and Runaway Poppy).
• Restaurant owner Danny Abrams (Mermaid Inn and Pizzeria Sirenetta).
• Retail broker and Community Board 7 Second Vice Chair Doug Kleiman.

Andrew Rigie, Community Board 7’s First Vice Chair, will be moderating the panel. Kleiman and Rigie are both members of the BCI Committee.

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Among the many issues being addressed in the hour-long panel discussion will be contributing factors to closings and retail vacancies, issues faced by property owners and small business owners, changes in consumer shopping habits, local laws requiring sidewalk sheds, and much more. Following the panel discussion there will be a 30-minute Q&A featuring questions submitted by audience members on cards distributed at the beginning of the Town Hall session.

“BCI Committee works with business owners and residents on topics that range from liquor license and sidewalk café applications to quality of life issues, including those resulting from empty storefronts,” points out Christian Cordova, co-chair of BCI Committee. “We felt it was important for the community to hear from the business and retail owners who are directly impacted by the current retail environment.”

Adds Linda Alexander, co-chair of BCI Committee, “We have heard so many misconceptions about why retail is in jeopardy in our neighborhood. There are a multitude of contributing factors and if we are able identify even some of them, it will be an important step to finding viable solutions.”

Attendance is free but seating is limited, so if you’d like to attend please register here.

About The Business & Consumer Issues Committee

The Business & Consumer Issues Committee (BCI) is one of 10 standing committees on Community Board 7/Manhattan, an advisory group that represents the Upper West Side from West 59^th Street to 110^th Street, from Central Park West to the Hudson River. The BCI Committee reviews and votes on applications for liquor licenses, sidewalk cafes and many other issues affecting commercial businesses and residents in the District. The Committee meets on the second Wednesday of the month at the district office at 250 West 87th Street.

About Community Board 7

Community Board 7 plays an important advisory role in dealing with land use and zoning matters, the City budget, municipal service delivery, and multiple community concerns of the Upper West Side.

The Board is headed by Mark N. Diller, Chair. CB7’s staff is headed by its District Manager, Penny Ryan. Staff members include John P. Martinez, Assistant District Manager, and Jessie Nieves, Community Associate.

The Board consists of fifty volunteer members appointed by the Manhattan Borough President, 25 of whom are selected by the three Council Members representing the District. All of CB7’s Board Members live, work, or have a significant interest in the district and are appointed based on their qualifications and the needs of the current Board.

CB7 has several standing committees that work with the community to address the concerns of the Upper West Side. Board members are required to serve in one or more of these committees during their appointment.

For in-depth information about community boards and their role in City government see the details at About Community Boards.