Giant Costco Proposed For Upper West Side

New Yorkers Seem To Like Idea, Which Is In Early Stages

Scott Rapoport

WCBS TV

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Is Costco about to go cosmo?

One of the biggest of the big box stores may be coming to Manhattan. There's talk of putting a new Costco store on the Upper West Side.

CBS 2 HD spoke to New Yorkers on Tuesday to find out what they thought of the idea.

"Well that's great," one person said. "Sounds good."

It's the gigantic store featuring endless inventory and discount deals. Now, it's potentially coming to Gotham.

"I think, potentially, it could be good," one woman said. "Could drive a lot of business to this neighborhood."

A developer is reportedly in talks with Costco to bring a supersize store to the Riverside South area by the West Side Highway, between 59th and 61st streets.

But not everyone's thrilled.

"This is not a good location for Costco," said NYC Councilwoman Gale Brewer, D-Manhattan.

Brewer is worried about the noise and traffic the store would bring.

"The traffic is always so intensive and this would exasperate the traffic situation ... because you need a car to take home all that toilet paper," Brewer said.

In Long Island City, where Costco has a huge store, residents say its impact has been mostly positive.

"It's good to have it here," one resident said. "It helps out a lot of people here."

But the proposed project is still being called a work in progress, with public hearings in the community to be scheduled if and when the plan goes forward.

CBS 2 HD's calls to Costco's corporate offices on Tuesday were not returned.

wcbstv.com