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Consents & Variances
Newsstand application # 1368516, NWC 6th Avenue and West 50th Street.
WHEREAS, The applicant seeks a permit to install and operate a newsstand on NWC 6th Ave & West 50th Street, andWHEREAS, The proposed site is heavily congested with pedestrian traffic, in front of the Time-Life Building, and across from Radio City Music Hall), and
WHEREAS, The proposed newsstand would negatively impact on pedestrian traffic by creating further congestion, thus creating an unsafe condition, 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 every day; and
WHEREAS, The proposed newsstand would have an adverse impact on several architectural elements of this block:
- On this part of 6th Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Americas, the sidewalk has a significant serpentine pattern (which extends to the inside lobby.) to evoke the famed sidewalks of Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro,
- The Time & Life blue metal sculpture designed by William Crovello
- The Time & Life fountains
- The Time & Life building itself (a designated Landmark since 1962), and
WHEREAS, Community Board 5 recognizes that 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 5 recommends denial of the application to install a newsstand on NWC 6TH Ave & 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 33 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining.