By Leslie Albrecht and Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — With mom and pop businesses an endangered species on the Upper West Side, City Councilwoman Gale Brewer says she's got a plan to save them.
Brewer called on state lawmakers this week to pass legislation that would create a tax credit for owners of commercial buildings who rent space to small merchants.
Brewer's request comes as many smaller storefronts on the Upper West Side are going dark. Blocks of mom and pop businesses on Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway have recently seen a series of closures.
"It tears your heart out," Brewer said. "Mom and pops are the soul of our neighborhood."
Longtime neighborhood butcher Ottomanelli Brothers on West 79th Street and Amsterdam closed earlier this month, and the 24-hour Manhattan Diner will close in the coming months.
Brewer wants the legislation to give landlords an incentive to rent to mom and pop businesses, many of whom say they're being pushed out of the neighborhood because landlords prefer to rent to national chain stores who rarely have a problem paying rent on time.
Brewer said building owners have told her a tax credit could make it worth their while to rent space to smaller businesses.
"They said if there was some kind of abatement for the owners of the building, they would be more willing to (rent to mom and pop stores)," Brewer said. "We've heard that over and over again from responsible owners of buildings."
Joel Kravet of Apthorp Cleaners, a small business on Amsterdam Avenue between West 78th and 79th streets, said the tax break could work if it meant his landlord would lower his rent.
"If they pass it on to me in rent it's good, but if the landlords just make more profit it doesn't help any small business owner," Kravet said. "It's pretty tough to tax your way into equality."
Stephanie Goldstein, who owns the Amsterdam Avenue boutique Stoopher & Boots, said an incentive program's success would depend on whether a tax break would offset the revenue landlords lose when they rent to smaller businesses.
"It all comes down to business, it’s not an emotional decision," Goldstein said. "The landlords are just trying to make money like anyone else."
