West Side storefront war grows

The Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District is opposing the city’s plan to limit storefronts on the Upper West Side to encourage more diversity among retailers — despite Mayor Bloomberg’s prediction that the proposal won’t have “a lot of pushback.”

“We feel we don’t really have a problem on Columbus Avenue,” BID Director Barbara Adler said yesterday, cautioning that the zoning change might have “unintended consequences.”

Responding to what it said were community concerns, the Department of City Planning has drafted a proposal to limit new storefronts on Columbus and Amsterdam avenues to 40 feet, while new bank branches on Broadway would be capped at a maximum 25 feet of frontage.

There would be no limit on attached basement or second-floor spaces.

Adler said the proposed regulations would block a popular local deli from expanding next door because the combined space would exceed the 40-foot rule.

BID Chairman Robert Quinlan pointed out that similar restrictions enacted in Yorkville in the 1970s failed and had to be retracted.

Last week, the mayor said the push for smaller-sized shops was “very popular” among Upper West Side residents.

“I don’t think you’ll have a lot of pushback,” he said.