To Whom It May Concern:
I co-own a business on Vanderbilt that is not a restaurant or a bar.
The Open Streets (OS) on Vanderbilt Avenue has a not insignificant negative impact on our business. Since the inception of OS, several regular weekend customers that traveled to our store stopped making the trip, as they are unable to park on Vanderbilt or nearby streets. On days when Vanderbilt is closed the surrounding streets become incredibly congested with traffic and already limited parking becomes harder to come by. Anecdotally, when I walk home from the shop on Saturday afternoons the traffic is generally backed up well beyond the Northern side of Flatbush- this was never the case before OS.
Furthermore, we have large deliveries (40 plus pounds) that go out on Saturday afternoons. When Vanderbilt Avenue is closed we cannot load these in front of our storefront. This means someone working in the shop needs to lug heavy deliveries down the block to get them on their way to their destination. This puts a stress on not only the person making the deliveries, but on the remaining employees, who are covering our business while this takes place. Some of these deliveries go out in hired cars- whose drivers almost always cancel the trips when they see Vanderbilt Avenue is closed.
Our business takes ESG issues seriously. Our whole business model centers sustainability- we make continued efforts to be mindful of our environmental impact and carbon footprint. We’re certainly not part of any pro-car faction. That said, we were not consulted in the decision to have Vanderbilt Avenue closed on weekends, so our needs were not taken into consideration. Having Vanderbilt Avenue closed three days a week for eight months of the year creates a hardship for our business and we urge you to re-think this initiative.
Sincerely,
Anonymous Vanderbilt business owner
