Long Beach Business Owners Divided Over New Mandatory Sidewalk Cleaning Fee
LONG BEACH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork)-- Some merchants on Long Island say a new sidewalk cleaning fee is bad for business. The goal is to spur business, but some fear the additional fees will only hurt.
Merchants tidy up regularly, but soon the clean-up won't be optional, CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported. The City of Long Beach is about to charge business landlords a mandatory fee to keep sidewalks and gutters clean.
The plan aims to make the shopping district more inviting.
"It will include power washing and city workers will walk around, like in Times Square, picking up trash," Long Beach City Council Vice President Anthony Eramo said.
The fee will play for a "clean team" to tackle litter on the main shopping drags and add bike racks, user-friendly garbage and recycling receptacles, sidewalk planters, and hanging baskets.
"Restaurants especially really need to clean up. You go inside and it's beautiful and outside it's filthy," Eramo said.
But with stores still struggling to bounce back after Superstorm Sandy, not everyone views a clean team fee as a beautiful thing.
Business landlords will be charged $25 per square yard of sidewalk space per quarter. For the landlord of one sprawling surf shop, that adds up to thousands of dollars.
"I shouldn't have to subsidize the people who aren't taking care of the front of stores," Long Beach Surf Shop Owner Luke Hamlet said.
Merchants fear landlords will pass the costs along to them.
"We do it anyway, so now we have to pay for something we do anyway?" barber Mike Vostok said.
"We pay taxes already... next year are they going to charge us $75 per square yard of air?" Long Beach resident David Feifer said.
The city said voluntary clean up wasn't working. The owner of one new restaurant said making shopping areas look their best is money well spent.
"It seems like a normal fee for a good cause as long as they can maintain it and keep the side walks clean," LB Social Owner Matt Hisiger said.
The city will offset the charge by lowering garbage pick-up fees. The clean team takes to the streets in July. Long Beach plans to expand the clean team fee from its two main shopping districts to all commercial properties.