Brooklyn Solves Retail Puzzle

So says the Gotham Gazette, pointing out that we have managed to retain small, indie businesses and still attract the giants, who manage to peacefully co-exist; Home Ec and Ikea can thrive within a couple of miles of each other. The secret, they say, is "promoting a 'my way' kind of thing with its retail sector - big stores and small, chains and independents, ordinary and idiosyncratic, garish and subtle, high end and low, traditional ethnic, cool retail, small handicrafts, hip entertainment, etc. Statistically Brooklyn still looks 'under-retailed' compared to Manhattan, says The Real Deal, since Manhattan has 52.2 square feet of retail space per capita, and Brooklyn has only 10.8. But downtown Brooklyn and Williamsburg are starting to compete hard and successfully." We've added 660,000 square feet in retail space in the last year, as opposed to 33,000 square feet in 2006. Nice to see such an optimistic view of the borough. Do you agree with it?
Brooklyn's Retail Boom [Gotham Gazette]
Photo by threecee.

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Smith, Court, 5th Ave and 7th Ave are all pretty wonderful examples of small business flourishing.

Posted by: This Aint No Disco at October 14, 2008 9:47 AM

Im not sure how the barber shop is staying afloat but right next to it is the lil miss muffin place and they have amazing bbq chicken patties for 2 bucks. I haul ass home from work some days just go get there before they close at 7.

the whole area around there on flatbush has alot of great stuff and stores for every person imaginable. A freakin chess shop just opened up and its mobbed at night.

Posted by: Santa at October 14, 2008 10:43 AM

A chess shop? Or a cheese shop??

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 14, 2008 10:45 AM

dibs - it is a chess shop. met the proprietor a few days before he opened a while back. seems like a bright guy with a good idea and a good spirit. glad to hear he's doing well and i hope he continues to.

santa - i've never tried their patties, but will have to. i also really don't get how a lot (and there are a *lot*) of the barber shops and beauty parlors around that area of flatbush and vanderbilt stay afloat. some seem regularly busy but others just aren't. do they own the buildings? did they get crazy good leases 15 years ago?

Posted by: i disagree at October 14, 2008 10:56 AM

Brooklyn can support a wide variety of retail because it has the population and household income to do so, and is underserved by retail.

The idea that big boxes drive out small retail is a myth that mistakes correlation for causation. Small retail suffers in areas where population and income are declining: aging rust belt areas or rural areas where automation in agriculture is eliminating jobs. It doesn't happen in areas that are growing.

In economically healthy areas, like Brooklyn or the New Jersey suburbs, small retail thrives in proximity to big boxes, like remoras alongside a shark. Mall owners in Jersey don't have any problem renting out their smaller spaces when they have Wal-Mart or Target as an anchor.

Posted by: Flatbushwhacker at October 14, 2008 11:05 AM

I think it's a poorly-understood thing to use Manhattan as a baseline for what constitutes a retail sq. feet per capita baseline. Manhattan has a much denser population, has a higher commuter-worker rate and has many tourists.

I also think it's lame to imply there was a method or overall plan guiding Brooklyn's retail patterns. It smells more like they tried to come up with something to hang a hat on, rather than an actual explanation.

Posted by: dreamking at October 14, 2008 11:16 AM

hey, i disagree: can you send us a photo of the chess shop? maybe we can do a post about it? thanks.

Posted by: lisa at October 14, 2008 11:39 AM

The national average is 36.4 SF of retail per person, so while Manhattan is a crazy # to use as a baseline, Brooklyn is still well below the national average.

Posted by: Shoots and Leaves at October 14, 2008 11:40 AM

Fine. Just no more dog spas or frozen yogurt stores.

Deal?

Posted by: Knickerbocker at October 14, 2008 11:44 AM

lisa -- here's a photo and squib about the chess shop.

http://parkslopescope.com/blog/2008/08/new-york-chess-and-game-shop.aspx

Posted by: z at October 14, 2008 12:13 PM

I agree with dreamking: just what is it that Brooklyn has done that the author feels should be replicated?

I also think that we shouldn't be celebrating the eradication of industrial use land in Brooklyn, as industrial jobs are much higher quality jobs than retail. Check out this organization: http://nyirn.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=661&parentID=655&nodeID=3

Posted by: GWH at October 14, 2008 1:48 PM

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October 14, 2008

Brooklyn Solves Retail Puzzle

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