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Amsterdam Ave. Businesses Weigh In on Proposed Bike Lane Ahead of Vote

By Emily Frost | February 2, 2016 8:58am
 Nikolai Santurian, right, owns Beer Shop on Amsterdam Avenue and showed his support for the bike lane on a recent Saturday, with an employee.
Nikolai Santurian, right, owns Beer Shop on Amsterdam Avenue and showed his support for the bike lane on a recent Saturday, with an employee.
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Twitter/@pedestriantom

UPPER WEST SIDE — Bike advocates have been campaigning hard to show that businesses along Amsterdam Avenue support a bike lane on the thoroughfare — but not every retailer agrees it's a good idea. 

The Department of Transportation wants to create a protected bike lane along the avenue between West 72nd to 110th streets, stating that a northbound lane will provide added safety for cyclists and pedestrians, without slowing vehicle traffic and still leave room for deliveries through dedicated loading zones. 

Community Board 7's Transportation Committee reached an impasse during its vote on the lane in early January, ahead of the full board's vote set to happen Tuesday night.

Some board members have said keeping small businesses along the corridor thriving should be prioritized in any debate over the lane, a message received by advocates, some of whom have been speaking to store owners about the plan for years.

Over the past three weekends, locals members of the citywide advocacy group Transportation Alternatives went door to door along Amsterdam Avenue soliciting support for the plan in the lead-up to the vote.

The effort found that 27 businesses within the nearly 40-block stretch where the lane would run have pledged support for the bike lane, the group said. Five businesses opposed the lane and two were undecided, they found. 

Transportation Alternatives said it spoke almost entirely with owners of the businesses — except in two cases, in which advocates spoke with senior managers.

The volunteers "ran into very few negative voices these last three weekends," said Thomas DeVito, director of organizing for the group. 

However, businesses that do oppose the bike lane — especially restaurants — told DNAinfo that they worried it would make deliveries challenging. 

"I think it’s a disaster," said Tal Lavi, the owner of Amsterdam Ale House at 340 Amsterdam Ave., at West 76th Street, noting that his delivery people bring in 30 to 40 kegs of beer a day. 

"It’s heavy stuff. They'll need to cross the bike lane every time to get in to my place," he said of his establishment, which sits on the western side of the street, where the lane would go.

Larry Bellone, who owns the restaurant TESSA at 349 Amsterdam Ave., was concerned about an already packed avenue, including double-parking from delivery trucks and the Riverside Memorial Chapel right by his restaurant. 

"More traffic, more noise, more difficult to get to/from the restaurant either as a customer or vendor are not good for business," said Bellone, whose restaurant sits on the eastern side of the avenue. "The noise and pollution also really bad for the outdoor cafe."

Business owners on the western side of the avenue who shared support for the plan spoke of the lane as a welcome "buffer" between diners and traffic, Transportation Alternatives' DeVito said.

Ari Joseph, the owner of Bustan at 487 Amsterdam Ave. and West 83rd Street, told DNAinfo New York he believes the bike lane would help the avenue's feel.

"It’s an amazing idea. It creates an atmosphere, an ambiance," said Joseph, who does not have outdoor seating at his restaurant on the avenue's eastern side.

But he cautioned against applying that theory everywhere in the city. 

"It doesn’t make sense for Midtown... and for certain parts [of the city] that are so busy and congested to begin with," Joseph said. 

Other supporters felt the lane would help their bicycle delivery workers get around and make biking safer for them, DeVito said. 

Transportation Alternatives has encouraged as many supportive businesses as possible to turn up at Tuesday's Community Board 7, he added.

The meeting will take place 6:30 p.m. at Goddard Riverside, 593 Columbus Ave. 

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