Luxe condos rising in industrial nabes aren't the only thing giving NYC factory owners a nervous tick. Businesses in the city's 16 "industrial business zones" like Sunset Park and Long Island City say they're also threatened by big box stores, hotels and offices. Turns out, zoning in these industrial game preserves allows all of the above, and owners are worried they'll jack the rent and drive them out just like residential development. Metro reports there's a resolution in the City Council to create "industrial employment districts" requiring special permits and City Council approval for hotels, offices and stores larger than 10,000 square feet. The curious part is that bookstores, antiques stores, wedding chapels and sewage plants would also need special permssion. Antique stores we can dig--once the 30s Art Deco coffee tables arrive, there goes the neighborhood. But wedding chapels and sewage treatment plants? We have faith there's a rational explanation.
· Real Estate Fears Spread Through Industrial Sector [Metro]
· REVEALED: Wal-Mart's Secret NYC Location List [Curbed]
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