A threat to the town’s growth?

A new restaurant is planned for Narrowsburg, and with it will come an outdoor café and terrace garden. Laura and Nick Santana’s complete renovation of 15 Main Street, named Narrowsburg Mews, stands to renew the hamlet’s commercial image and stimulate the local economy.

The restaurant will also speak to frequent complaints that the downtown business district only has one restaurant.

At a recent meeting, Tusten Planning Board Chairman Ed Jackson challenged the Santanas to accomplish a renovation that blends with the hamlet’s historic character. The owners accepted the call.

Additionally, the board raised the issue of apparent limited parking and asked the Santanas if they knew about a zoning law that requires restaurant owners—based on the board’s judgment—to provide one parking space per 50 square feet of floor area, a tall order that could deter new restaurant development in Narrowsburg.

The officials voiced concerns because “the town leases a parking lot from Fleet bank and there is no guarantee that the space will be provided as a public lot in the future.”

But the town recently expanded this public parking lot with money from a state grant, an action that suggests commitment to maintaining the contract with Fleet Bank.

Thus, particular attention to this apparent lack of a guarantee during review of a single restaurant application is inconsistent on the part of the town.

Further, a look down Main Street on Sunday afternoon during the height of summer tourism—or on any afternoon or evening of the week besides Friday and Saturday—will show a dormant town with hardly a parking space occupied. And during peak hours, spaces always remain open at both public parking lots on Main and Bridge Streets.

If Tusten moves to require the Santanas to provide parking spaces for their future patrons, the town would effectively treat Narrowsburg as though it suffered from over-development, when in truth, activity is moving sporadically.

Securing new businesses, rehabilitating buildings and developing the Big Eddy Waterfront all factor significantly into Narrowsburg’s revitalization program, presented in Tusten’s Comprehensive Plan. It says the downtown business district should capitalize on its attractive quality by “actively soliciting new businesses and providing for them in its zoning.”

Which implies a need for careful consideration of laws that threaten to discourage new relationships between investors and the town.

If parking ever becomes a major problem in Narrowsburg; if the available parking spaces ever become 100 percent full for significant periods, I would venture to guess that business owners in the hamlet’s private sector would make it their concern to prevent any lost revenues to the collective economy.

—Charlie Buterbaugh,
Assistant Editor