Cindrich Schedules Business Owners Meeting in Mt. Kisco
By Neal Rentz
Buoyed by what he felt was a successful meeting with commercial property owners earlier this month, Mount Kisco Mayor Michael Cindrich has scheduled another work session addressing the need to fill empty downtown storefronts.
This time, however, the gathering will be for the tenants of commercial buildings in the village.
The work session with business owners has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m. at village hall.
During a village board work session on Feb. 7, the trustees and commercial property landlords agreed that steps were needed to promote the village as a welcoming place for new businesses. That was followed a week later by a work session where Cindrich said village events and its business district should be promoted much more aggressively The chamber of commerce could also promote events that attracts consumers to Mount Kisco and a long overdue master plan revision should be explored.
The landlord of the property that had housed the now defunct Borders bookstore has received some interest from new tenants, Cindrich said. While the landlord would not identify the businesses to officials, at least three different entities have expressed a desire to rent all or part of the building.
“Things are happening,” he said. “I think we’re making headway.”
Meanwhile, one of the organizers of the new Occupy Main Street effort, a push to help promote the village and address its commercial vacancies, said she applauds officials for their efforts to address the problem but there are other steps still to be taken.
Sarah O’Grady said there are still too many obstacles that are often in the way of merchants and commercial property owners that prevent new businesses from moving in and helping existing businesses flourish. O’Grady said she recently talked with one Mount Kisco business owner who was prohibited from putting balloons outside her store to let the public know of its opening.
“I think that talking about it and doing it are going to be two different things, so I look forward to seeing what changes occur without getting stuck in bureaucratic red tape,” she said.
Occupy Main Street has scheduled a meeting for tomorrow night (Wednesday, Feb. 29) for 7 p.m. in the Mount Kisco Public Library community room. The objective is to address the growing vacancy rate, the factors and what change the community would like to see, O’Grady said.
Cindrich, who described the current commercial downturn in the village as “cyclical,” said economic difficulties have occurred in the past, but the village has recovered.
“This is a protracted downturn in the economy,” Cindrich said “(But) we’ve weathered well in comparison to other local communities.”
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.