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Marcus Rosner and his wife own three stores on Glendon Avenue, which faces a pending street closu

Marcus Rosner, who was born and raised locally, recalls the Westwood of the late 1940’s, when parking meters on

Westwood Boulevard took

pennies instead of quarters and his mother would take him to Will Wright’s ice cream parlor on weekends.

Decades later, Rosner’s life is still invested in the Village – he and his wife Jill own three stores on Glendon Avenue.

Rosner has owned and operated Morgan & Company Jewellers since 1975, when he took over the business from its previous owner who had opened the store in 1965. In 2001, he opened Westburton Antiques, and Jill opened Flowers of Meadowstream in two adjacent properties on Glendon Avenue.

When a city planning committee recently approved a developer’s proposal to shut down part of Glendon Avenue for up to a year during construction, a coalition of merchants, most of whom had stores nearby, spoke out against the closure of Westwood’s third busiest street.

Casden Properties’ proposal is to develop a $100 million residential and retail facility that would occupy lots on both sides of the street. Representatives from at least 14 Westwood businesses met with City Councilman Jack Weiss last month to discuss preventing the closure before the city grants the project final approval.

Though many feel the prolonged closure of Glendon Avenue will be harmful for business and may even jeopardize their stores’ existences, Rosner perhaps has more at stake than the rest.

As owner of three adjacent stores on Glendon Avenue, his and Jill’s entire livelihood revolves around the area, and the closure is a threat to the business he has been doing on Glendon for over 30 years.

Rosner has seen many stores come and go since his childhood, and he attributes his own success to both his professional dedication and his openness to change. He recalls keeping his store open until 9 p.m. on Mondays in the 1970s, when he says Westwood was a popular evening destination.

“It is not an evening neighborhood anymore. ... We’re not open in the evening anymore; there’s just no traffic,” he said.

He also said his customers expect the highest quality and often come to him for work that few others can do. Rosner manufactures or designs about 75 percent of the jewelry he carries and said prices for his items range from a few hundred dollars to a few hundred thousand.

“Ever since I’ve been here, I’ve upgraded and tried to do only the best I possibly could,” he said.

Rosner’s compound, as he sometimes refers to his stores and the garden that connects two of them, is located in one of Westwood’s original structures, built in 1929. He says he likes the natural quality of the rough-hewn brick interior of his jewelry store and the sense of history it exudes.

It is his appreciation of the past that compelled him to open his antique store three years ago.

An avid collector himself, Rosner travels to England and France to purchase everything that is sold in the store. Some of the antiques for sale include a century-old butcher’s cutting block and intricately decorated chinaware. Like his jewelry store, Westburton Antiques specializes in the highest quality, which generally means high prices. A plate made in 1805 goes for $185.

“Our approach is to bring sophisticated country living to people of the city,” he said, referring to his and Jill’s niche in business.

Though he strongly opposes developer Alan Casden, Rosner believes his businesses are strong enough to survive the inevitable drop in customer flow that will result from the street closure.

“I may not be in as bad a location as some, but I feel for everybody here,” he said, speaking of the negative impact the closure could have on some of his fellow merchants.

In contrast to the friendly rapport shared by many of the small business owners in the vicinity, Rosner said Casden Properties has alienated the rest of the business community by showing its disregard for the welfare of other merchants.

“For (Casden Properties) it’s all about money; for us it’s about a way of life,” he said.

Though he maintains his opposition to Casden Properties’ attitude toward the rest of the community, Rosner believes the completed project could benefit local businesses.

“They should be able to develop their property. They shouldn’t be able to develop it at the cost of other people,” he said.

At least for now, the project has had given second thoughts to one potential merchant – the Rosners’ daughter.

She had considered opening a coffee or tea bar in the lawn that connects two of the Rosners’ businesses but decided against it for now, partly because of the street closure that would come with the Casden development, Jill said.

Casden’s proposed project, called Palazzo Westwood, would contain 350 luxury apartments, which will greatly benefit businesses in the area and will overshadow the temporary negative effects of a street closure, Casden Properties Vice President of Community Development Howard Katz said.

While Rosner and other merchants have criticized the apparent selfishness of the developer’s plan to close down a public street, Katz said closing Glendon Avenue during construction is actually in the best interest of the community.

Casden Properties has altered construction plans to reduce the closure time to a six-month period instead of a year or longer. Katz said that shutting the street down for six months during construction of a subterranean parking facility will minimize the inconvenience and danger intermittent closures could cause.

Though he said he understands the frustrations of merchants such as Rosner, Katz added that he is disappointed by the negative reactions of some merchants. He specifically cited some merchants’ appeal for Casden Properties to provide compensation for the inconvenience of construction as a source of irritation.

“Are they going to pay me when they benefit from our project?” he asked.

Though he is unsure of what the precise effect of the project will be on his livelihood, Rosner is confident that his businesses will survive.

As owner of some of the longest tenured businesses in Westwood, Rosner has endured the changing business landscape of the Village and believes he will continue to do so.

“I’ve adjusted by dealing with the reality of change, accepting the change and not fighting it,” he said, referring to his legacy of success in a difficult environment.