By Dan Murphy
Yonkers residents are not happy that a Lingerie Superstore has opened on Central Park Avenue in Yonkers. The site of a former auto parts story, the Lingerie Superstore sells not only lingerie, but other relationship toys and sexual paraphernalia.
Romantic Depot is the owner/operator of the Lingerie Superstore, which has windows that are adorned with mannequins with lingerie. It has another location in Westchester (Elmsford), and one in the Bronx.
Many Yonkers residents have complained about the new store on Central Avenue, which is the location of retail stores, restaurants and other establishments running north from Yonkers to Hartsdale. “I can’t believe that we have a sex shop on Central Avenue,” said one co-op owner in Yonkers. “Couldn’t we have found another business to go in there?”
We spoke to City Councilman Anthony Merante, who represents the Sixth District where the store is located. Merante explained that the Lingerie Superstore is an acceptable retail use, and that no zoning change or amendment was required for it to open.
“I don’t think this type of business will succeed on Central Avenue, but there was nothing we could do about it,” he said. “I became aware of this business moving here back in February. We looked into it and spoke with the business owners. From the outside it looks like a Halloween costume store.”
The Journal News has recently penned several stories about the declining retail base along Central Avenue and the vacancies that exist. However, the empty storefronts and windows are not only along Central Avenue – but in all parts of Westchester and in the several malls in the county.
Despite the vacancies, new retail locations continue to be constructed, including a new self-storage building with retail just north on Central Avenue. Rock blasting at that location continues to create enough open space for the construction.
Two proposed hotels for southwest Yonkers have also sparked interest and opposition. The two hotels are proposed by two different owners at two different locations: one at 189 S. Broadway at Herriot Street, near the Cedar School; the other further south on South Broadway at the Broadway Diner and American Dream Steakhouse.
The 189 S. Broadway location is owned by the owners of the Gateway Hotel in Yonkers, and another hotel in Westchester. Their application before the planning and zoning boards is further along in the process because they have proposed building a first-floor parking area and have enough land space to create additional, required parking. The opposition to this location is its proximity to the elementary school, and the clientele that would frequent this hotel if it opens.
The owners of the Broadway Diner and the American Dream Steakhouse are ready to sell their property to a prospective hotel owner/operator, with Holiday Inn Express a name tossed out as a possibility. Holiday Inn Express was presented as a five-star hotel, but that rating was quickly rejected by the more than 100 members of the community that came out last week to a special meeting of the Third Precinct Community Council. All of those in attendance – except for the owners of both properties – oppose the new hotels.
American Dream steakhouse closed down after major renovations. Prior to the new ownership, it was the longtime location of the Coach’n Four Restaurant, operated by Joe Cornin for decades. The new owners could not attract enough customers, and a hotel is the new idea. Published reports have the owners in debt for almost $1 million for workers’ compensations costs.
The South Broadway Business Improvement District has joined with the neighbors in opposition to the new proposed hotels for the same reasons: There is too much traffic already along South Broadway, not enough parking, and – as one resident asked at the meeting – “This isn’t a tourist area or a business center, so who would go to these hotels?”
State Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, County Legislator Christopher Johnson, City Councilwoman Corazon Pineda-Isaac, and Council Majority Leader Michael Sabatino all attended the special meeting and heard the concerns of the community.
The 189 S. Broadway location has more likelihood of gaining approval because of its location and the size of the property lot. The Broadway Diner-American Dream location has already been rejected by the Zoning Board for one of its applications and will have to obtain variances in order for a hotel to ever be built at that location.
