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July 17, 2008

Atlantic's Antique Row Heading Towards Obsolescence?

atlantic-antique-closings-07-2008.jpg
The string of antique shops lining Atlantic Avenue between Hoyt and Bond is becoming a thing of the past. Yul Vilbaum Antiques, near the corner of Hoyt, recently shuttered, and it'll soon be replaced by a Steven Alan boutique. By the end of this month, Boerum Hill Restoration—known for its selection of old-school office furniture—will shut down its retail arm at 375 Atlantic. Two doors down, Repeat Performance's owner is retiring and closing his 29-year-old shop. Meanwhile, the biggest store on the strip, Horseman Antiques, has been threatening to go out of business for a long time; Horseman's owner is trying to sell the building. Norman Benjamin, the owner of Boerum Hill Restoration, says his store and others are closing or have closed because of shifting consumer tastes and the "upscaling" of the neighborhood. "Twenty years ago, every address on the block was an antique store," says Benjamin, who opened his store in 1979 and will continue to operate a restoration business out of the back of 375 Atlantic. "There were easily 30 of them." Benjamin notes that most of the stores carried Victorian or turn-of-the-century antiques, which he believes have fallen out of favor with many consumers who now look for mid-century pieces. About 10 antique stores still remain on the street, and Benjamin thinks there will always be vestiges of the old district even though it's not considered a destination retail strip in the way it once was. "In the late '70s and early '80s, it had such a following," he says. "People would say, 'Let's go to Atlantic Avenue this weekend,' and when they were here, they'd ask us if there was a coffee shop nearby, and we had nowhere to send them. Now there are wine bars, clubs, and restaurants. Very high-end stores are no longer afraid to come to this neighborhood." GMAP




Posted by Gabby at 9:30 AM | Comments (21)
Categories: Boerum Hill, Retail

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the writing's been on the wall for a couple of years now

Posted by: guestula at July 17, 2008 9:59 AM

although I love a lot of what's happening on Atlantic, I guess i thought the antiques shops were what was fueling it. Nearly every weekend I used to walk over there and spend the day going in and out of all the shops. You never knew what you'd find under the dust and dirt and backcorners- I have to say I scored a lot of great stuff. But most of the owners were really savvy about what they had- it's just sad to see it disappearing, like a lot of the wonderful districts that were in Manhattan- the flower district, the trim district, the millinery district, - the down side of gentrification. Neighborhoods lose their personality and the resources that businesses and individuals depended on have gone.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 17, 2008 9:59 AM

I've been to all of them and they are way overpriced at least for the Victorian stuff. If you want quality victorian furniture, you can buy it online at other long established firms around the country. Even with the shippinng its cheaper than most of these shops.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at July 17, 2008 10:08 AM

today, yeah- in the late 80's, early 90's it was way cheaper and so much fun. A lot of the stores didn't go for the high end victorian, but for the odder, less usual and less popular stuff. I think the first really high end antiques store was the Lace room, which morphed into the Upholstered room and then high end 18th-19th C. furniture, if I remember correctly.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 17, 2008 10:16 AM

To attract browsers (casual shoppers who end up picking up a few things) antique stores have to be well curated and organized so they're entertaining to visit, and offer a lot of different items in a wider price range. I was at an antique store in another state this last weekend that was amazing. It's a very popular store with lots of shoppers. Our friends go every weekend. Similar items were placed together by theme or design, like a garden theme to one room, a BBQ theme to another room, a Victorian room then a Mid-Century room. It was fun just to walk through the store. In pricing there was something for everybody. Things for those who want to invest in a more serious piece of furniture, or there were little tables and chairs for people who want to spend under $100, and textiles, ephemera and pottery for people who only want decorative items.

Antique Row on Atlantic is more for those who need a serious, antique dining set so they set out on a mission specifically searching for that. Which is fine, but you don't get much business from the strolling browser type shopppers, thus it doesn't make the street a shopping destination.

Posted by: traditionalmod at July 17, 2008 10:19 AM

May Horseman Antiques sink into the earth! Those 2 old fart owners are the biggest jerks in town. Let's get a wrecking ball in and speed things up.

Posted by: bkboerum at July 17, 2008 10:25 AM

I hadn't been over to the antique district on Atlantic Avenue in years it seems. Therefore, I was shocked when I went a couple of weeks ago in search of a dining room set. Is the district heading towards obsolescence? It's a done deal! While there, I talked with several shop owners, all of whom were bemoaning the changes and preparing to shut down. Few had plans to move their businesses elsewhere.

I agree with you, Dave, I'd come to think that the prices of many of these shops were way too high. That's probably why I stopped casually browsing along the Avenue years ago. OTOH, let's get real about the fact that we're paying more for EVERYTHING here in NYC than in most other places! So, yes that would definitely include antiques -- products that are targeted to a relatively small, rather selective market demographic. Of course, if you have the time, means, gas allowance, etc. to hike it upstate or down south to buy your antique pieces, then, of course you will find better pricing schemes. But, as for buying antiques "online at other long established firms around the country," I don't think so. You take a risk on "antiques" even when you can see and touch the thing you are buying. Having been burnt once by an online purchase of a so-called antique, I would never do it again.

Posted by: Brooklynista at July 17, 2008 10:34 AM

While I'm sad to see many of them go, I completely agree with traditionalmod - I imagine that is part of the reason for their decline.

Posted by: 1842 at July 17, 2008 10:34 AM

I remember when it was hard to keep track of which store was which, as they all seemed to have a lot of huge pieces of oak furniture. This coincided with the Victorian craze of the 90's, and the whole brownstone revival movement, fueled by the new polularity of most of brownstone Brooklyn, especially Park Slope, Cobble Hill and in the vacinity, Boerum Hill. The prices then were really high, and well beyond the reach of a lot of people who were interested, but couldn't afford it.

I think the midcentury modern craze now is definitely a part of that, as well. Most of that furniture is now way overpriced, too. I hope many of the vendors stay, but change is inevitable. Many of the new clothing boutiques won't last either, as they have to charge top dollar for either self designed and produced goods, or the work of other designers. One has to sell a lot of $10 tee shirts to pay the very large rents on these places.

The street is very reminiscent of Soho back in the 80's, before the tourists and the rich took over. Getting pricier everyday, but still interesting and creative.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at July 17, 2008 10:48 AM

www.antiquesonhanover.com reasonably priced

www.southamptonantiques.com the best of the best and priced accordingly

www.antiquepurveyor.com exceptional mahogany dining tables & chairs

vkirby seller on ebay he's in Louisiana

I have bought from all of them and the service is fantastic. They all use either FedEx ground for smaller pieces or a blanket wrap deliver-into-your-house antiques delivery service.

That said, Circa has great stuff and the guy who had the shop pictured top right did too. I bought a heavy wrought iron victorian garden bench from Horseman and you're right bkboerum...he's a jerk

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at July 17, 2008 10:50 AM

Montrose Morris is right about atlantic being similar to SOHO in the 80's. I spent the summer of '87 subletting a loft on Mercer with some friends. Good times back then as the are was cool & edgy. Rents on Atlantic will skyrocket as more and more established "boutique" shops continue to open. The next logical expansion will be between 3rd and 4th as we're already seeing some displacement of olde school tenants. The Arabs will probably sell out next to the likes of Steven Alan kind of stores. Koz Paley sees the writing on the wall & is doing a beautiful renvoation of her 6 building calling it the Atlantic Gardens. There's money to be made in these parts. It's only logical that houses & condos in Boerum Hill will continue to rise at a clip of 5-7% in coming years and maybe even as much as 10% once the BAM Cultural District comes to fruition. Right now, Atlantic Avenue is about as close as it comes to the NY we all knew & loved in the 80's. It's now moving into it's early 90's Manhattan stage. It's all happening, folks

Posted by: PropJoe at July 17, 2008 11:29 AM

i went into horseman and the owners sucked and everything was pretty pricey. I went over to the Salvation Army across the street and bought furniture instead.

the internet is also killing these guys off.

Posted by: Santa at July 17, 2008 11:29 AM

What the antiques trade calls "brown furniture" has been rapidly declining in popularity. They complain about it all the time. Horseman actually has quite a lot of Midcentury Modern but there prices are high. They have a location in Jersey so they will continue on. I do agree that I have always loved NYC "districts" and they are almost all gone. There is still a bit of a trimmings district but the flower district and fur district are pretty much kaput. I guess there is a Marc Jacobs district on Bleecker now.

Posted by: Carol Gardens at July 17, 2008 11:55 AM

Oh yeah, if you have a car, Hudson, NY is where many dealers have moved.

Posted by: Carol Gardens at July 17, 2008 11:55 AM

Never liked Horseman- he always had a reputation for being questionable. I do love all the new shops and such, but times change. Part of the fun used to be going into dingy, dark places and discovering something wonderful. Some of the older stores had been around for years and the owners were interestingly sharp and crusty. Reminded me of the old sailors who used to have booths in the seaport before it was renovated into the bland and boring food court it is today.

True the oak and victorian stuff was always high in relation to everything else, but a bargain then compared to Manhattan. Now I go upstate to find stuff- it's lots more fun and still great to find a treasure.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 17, 2008 11:59 AM

Just went to Adamstown,PA for Antiques. It's a town that has about 25 Antique 'malls', over 7 miles. Didn't find what I was looking for. But found other things. There was alot of decorative stuff. It was fun walking around...the prices can't be beat. Even the expensive things were cheap compared to NYC and even Hudson. Next stop for me in the antique trail is a town outside of Gettysburg, forget the name, but it too has alot of antique stores.

I miss the Atlantic Avenue of yesteryear :(

Posted by: bayridgegirl at July 17, 2008 12:29 PM

I admit Hudson is not really for bargains. For that, try the flea markets in South Jersey like Berlin, Columbus, Cowtown!

Posted by: Carol Gardens at July 17, 2008 12:57 PM

Me too, bayridgegirl!

Posted by: bxgrl at July 17, 2008 12:58 PM

Atlantic Avenue is changing so much...almost don't like it.

All this 'boutique-ifing' of a neighborhood really turns me away from it.

I still go to Atlantic about once a week to shop at Sahadi, buy a spinach pie at Damascus Bakery or have lunch / dinner at Yemeni Cafe (across Atlantic from Sahadi - the best roasted lamb, ever!!!)

The antique stores are so overpriced. It seems like it's so hard to find a bargain in NYC anymore.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at July 17, 2008 2:20 PM

You can find some things at Brooklyn Flea and the prices are mixed. Hudson is way overpriced and upstate antique stores are essentially retail. If you don't go to auctions or buy directly from relatives of recently deceased persons, you will rarely get the great bargains. So what is your time worth? Do you want to drive a few hours and sit an an auction and maybe saves a few hundred dollars? Because if you add it up, that's about it unless you are planning to outfit a whole house. With gas an tolls, it may not be worth it.

Posted by: Iknow at July 17, 2008 4:20 PM

There are still some. A friend of mine got an amazing huge stained glass window from Eddie's for 250$.There's another place on Bed-stuy, I'll have to look it up, where you can still find great stuff too.

I'd gladly do the auction thing- it's a lot of fun. Sometimes the hunting is better than the finding.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 17, 2008 4:32 PM

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