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Consents & Variances
Newsstand Application #1355516, S/E/C Broadway and West 50th Street.
WHEREAS, The proposed newsstand would have a negative impact on pedestrian traffic, which is already very heavy, and add to congestion and create an unsafe condition; and
WHEREAS, The subway entrance is located on the east corners of 50th and Broadway; and
WHEREAS, There is a bus stop on 50th Street, close to the proposed site; and
WHEREAS, The proposed site is located in the theater district and registers extremely high pedestrian traffic: The Gershwin Theater is located on 50th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue); The Winter Garden Theater is located on Broadway (between 49th and 50th Street); and
WHEREAS, There is an already existing newsstand on the same block as the proposed newsstand site (about 15 feet north of the northeast corner of 49th Street), and there is also another newsstand across Broadway (on the northwest corner of 49th Street); and
WHEREAS, Safety is a crucial concern for Community Board Five, with 2,000 pedestrians having been killed in motor vehicle accidents on the streets of New York City in the past 12 years and on average about 35 pedestrians being struck by motor vehicles in NYC everyday; and
WHEREAS, Community Board 5 recognizes that the newsstand applicants are usually individuals and small business owners (often minorities or recent immigrants) and urges the Department of Small Business Services to assist applicants in the cumbersome application process; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That Community Board Five recommends denial of the application to install a newsstand at the S/E/C Broadway and West 50th Street; and be it further
RESOLVED, That Community Board Five urges DOT to proceed with the pedestrian count at the location at rush hour (5 PM- 6 PM) on a weekday, and be it further
RESOLVED, That in recognizing that the cost of applying for a newsstand is very high for the applicant, including the cost of hiring professionals to assist with the application, Community Board Five requests that DCA refund the application fee for applications that are denied.
The above resolution passed by a vote of 26 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining.