Fall 2003 Edition 

Banks and More Banks By Chris Neidenberg (on behalf of the River Road Improvement Corporation) Northern New Jersey's major financial institutions, taking advantage of incentives offered by the borough and the River Road Improvement Corporation (RRIC), are "banking" that River Road and Fair Lawn offers a customer base that will improve their business outlook for years to come. When the old Carvel Ice Cream shop met the wrecker's ball and moved directly across the street, the Community Bank of Bergen County stepped in and constructed a new branch, at Hopper Avenue and River Road. When the Commerce Bank scouted locations for a second borough home (adding to the branch currently operating on the old Omar's Restaurant site at Fair Lawn Avenue and Saddle River Road) it saw the corner of Bergen Avenue and River Road as an ideal place. Commerce hopes to break ground there later this year Three other banks, Fleet Bank, at the Berdan Avenue intersection, as well as the Columbia Savings Bank and the Bank of New York, which have long called River Road home, have made or are making, improvements to their properties. The latter are at the busy Fair Lawn Avenue intersection. All are contributing to the area's revival as well as adding needed new ratables for the borough. Columbia has begun adding three drive-thru lanes and an ATM to increase customer convenience. Fleet initiated major improvements to signage and landscaping. The Bank of New York - operating in the historic Wyder Building dating back to the 1920s in what was then Fair Lawn Center – recently added new signage more in keeping with the older building it occupies. Earlier, the bank took big steps toward helping the district increase parking convenience for all shoppers within the SID by contributing general spaces under a cooperative parking agreement with the municipality. Valley National Bank, has participated in the RRIC's zero interest loan programs, making loans available to interested businesses such as local eatery, Rivara's Ribs on Maple Avenue, adding a new second floor catering facility. Gary Niewenhuis, Senior Vice President with Valley, and a founding member of the RRIC, notes “Valley’s support for economic development projects like that on River Road reflect our commitment to Fair Lawn.” Within the last five years, the RRIC and the borough's government have worked on creating a "business friendly" environment to lure new investments into the area. In doing so, they have significantly reduced what had been a chronic vacancy rate. One cannot discount the possibility that these banks have been motivated by renewal efforts undertaken within the region over the last 10 years. These initiatives have included attracting new, primarily service oriented, businesses to the corridor and implementing major physical upgrades that have included new curbing, lighting, along with property maintenance and traffic intersection enhancements. Yet this improved business climate did not just spring up out of the blue.  The corporation currently offers grants, funded by district-generated revenues, to help interested businesses improve their signage and awnings. It also maintains an up-to-date list of all available properties.  Peter Michelloti, Community's senior vice president, said the borough location - only the company's third bank - is its first new branch in about 50 years. He noted that the company's decision to settle upon the Fair Lawn site followed an intensive two-year search of potential locations all over the area. In deciding to set up shop in Fair Lawn, Michelloti said, Community took notice of the River Road corridor and its revival, as evidenced by the many small businesses populating - and thriving in - the area. He explained that the bank concluded the region offered a stable base of potential commercial and residential clients that could help play a part in Community's growth. "In looking to set up a new branch, we searched for a business district similar to where we're headquartered in Maywood, which has a 'downtown' area with many small businesses," the executive pointed out. "We wanted the new bank to be in the center of an area with a lot of commercial activity, and we found the right place in Fair Lawn.. Robert Landzettel, a former mayor, current RRIC president and owner of Lazon Paints in the SID, said banks offer a major advantage to any business district. "Banks are essentially very clean operations," Landzettel said, referring to the fact that they generate little street litter or pollution. "In a particular business area, you certainly want to bring in these kind of operations which are convenience-type, walk-in businesses, as opposed to manufacturing operations. We have a lot of smaller businesses of this type, where people can come in and take advantage of a particular service in a short period of time. Landzettel and Charles Wrubel, another local property owner and RRIC trustee, credited their own corporation - as well as the support of the governing body and other municipal entities - with implementing needed changes along the corridor that have made River Road a better place to do business. They said they hoped these changes helped persuade banks, such as Community and Commerce, to "invest" in the area's future. "If you look throughout the borough, Fair Lawn seems to be a major banking center in Bergen County, it's really amazing," said RRIC Trustee Michael Varner. "River Road is certainly a bustling corridor, and you have major banks right in the center of that strip. The banks that are coming in, I'm sure, are well-aware of the successes within the district."