The Daily News has a story about how the one-two punch of unrealistically high asking rents and the recession has resulted in a number of empty storefronts in brownstone Brooklyn. Cases in point, where retail spaces are still empty after rent increases: the dry cleaner on Court and Baltic that had to vacate after the landlord hiked the rent from $2,500 to $6,500 a month; Royal Video, above, which left its old Flatbush Avenue spot for a smaller one after the landlord was said to be asking $10,000 a month for the space; and a Myrtle Avenue shoe repair that shut down this fall. It seems, however, that while there are certainly examples of greedy/delusional landlords to be found, there aren’t an overwhelming number of fresh vacancies on the main retail drags in Cobble Hill, Prospect Heights, and Park Slope—that these guys tend to be the exception, rather than the rule. Thoughts?
Brooklyn Storefronts Empty [NY Daily News]
Photo by plangently.